Shokugeki no Souma: Switch!
by SBloomLili
Summary: (DRAFT, not official!) After shooing some unwanted customers away, Yukihira Souma, a beautiful, red-headed teen, was suddenly enrolled to a culinary school her father, Yukihira Jouichirou, suggested! Will Souma survive it? Of course she does! The only problem is—when will she finally see the fact that many people are after her heart when she's clueless? /Fem!Souma x Harem/and Yuri/
1. Plate One:

**Hello~! This will be my first every fanfic in here, I'm not really new, but this is also just a draft. I just decided to publish this here. If there are mistakes and errors, don't mind to point it out so I can edit them in the future when I make this story official. :D**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Dis...

...gus..

...ting...

' _Disgusting!_ ' she thought, sounding extremely in dismay. ' _They don't go together at all..._ ' she continued as she leaned down from her seat, allowing her dark-red hair to fall over her shoulders. ' _They're a devastatingly bad match!_ '

In front of her, a small grill was turned on with charcoal and fire, and above it were pieces of squid tentacles covered in peanut butter.

"Squid tentacles and peanut butter..." her shoulders shook, restraining from letting her laughter leak through as her hand run through her red bangs, just covering her eyes. "I can't help but laugh, it's so disgusting..." she snickered, the squid tentacle covered in peanut butter in between her teeth just hanging there.

"Souma," her father called from inside, catching her attention as she raised her head and faced the door. "Your friend's here."

"Hai!"

She stood up, grabbing the white headband cloth wrapped around her left wrist and pulled. She wrapped it in front of her forehead, covering some of her bangs, before pulling the rest of her hair up into a high-ponytail with the headband.

"Let's do this, then!" she grinned, pulling the ends of the cloth to tighten it, her golden-yellow eyes were shining with determination.

* * *

A moment later, two bowls filled with rice and seasoning was placed in front of the table by two individuals. Their judge, a young female student, stared in excitement at the two dishes in front of her.

A middle-aged man reached his hand up to the back of his head, pulling the tie holding his brown hair out and allowed them to fall on his shoulders. Afterwards, he held his hand out, a calm smile on his face. "Enjoy."

Beside him, a young girl with astounding golden eyes pulled the edge of the headband, letting her red hair to fall gracefully on her chest and her back. She grinned, her hand doing the same gesture like the man beside her. "Dig in!"

The female student with short, chin-length brown hair smiled, holding the spoon in her hand. "Itadakimasu!"

A male student slid the doors of the Yukihira diner open, a smile already on his face as his friend looked over his shoulder. "The cooking battle's on!"

His friend widened his eyes slightly, a surprised look on his face. "So Mayumi's the judge today?" he proclaimed as the female student named ' _Mayumi_ ' took a spoonful of rice on her mouth, chewing on it thoughtfully.

After swallowing, Mayumi felt something jolt through her body, causing her thighs to squeeze together, a warm tingle running down her spine, and her legs rubbing on each other. She leaned her head back slightly, breathing out in pleasure with a small and faint moan as a red blush rose up her cheeks.

As Mayumi sighed out, the young teen with red hair had her arms crossed over her chest, a grin on her face and stared at the man in front of her. The man with brown hair had his hands on his hips, sharp eyes staring back at the young girl in front of him.

"You think...today's the day-"

"Shh! Mayu's thinking!"

Mayumi had her eyes closed in deep consideration, her hand on her chin in a thoughtful way. After what it seemed like a lifetime later, her hand, with eyes still closed, moved to the bowl on her left, a smile on her face. "This one!"

Everyone immediately cheered and clapped as the brown-haired man raised his arm in victory, his eyes closed and a triumph smile appeared on his face.

"Shimatta!" the red-headed teen exclaimed, falling on her knees in defeat. "Oyaji wins again!"

Mayumi stood up from her seat, a worried expression on her face as she stared at the beautiful red-head.

Yukihira Souma, age fifteen, sat on the ground with a grumpy look on her face at her defeat as her pink lips formed a cute pout, not caring about her bangs falling over her bright golden eyes.

"Souma," Yukihira Jouichirou, age thirty-eight and restaurant owner, smiled down at his daughter. "You still need more training." he stated, an underlying hint of warmth on his tone. Souma noticed it but only turned around.

"Looks like I've lost today." Souma said and walked away from her father, her hands on her hips, and ignored what he had said previously _(but not the warmth)_.

"Say that after you win at least once." Jouichirou countered right away before getting close to the red-headed teen in chibi-form. "You're probably getting close to five-hundred losses now, aren't you?" he inquired, amusement lacing his words.

"Hah?!" Souma turned around, her eyes narrowed at her father and raised a fist. "Don't get cocky, that was only four-hundred and eighty-nine!" she defended back.

"You're still getting close."

"Urusai, oyaji!"

As the father-daughter duo continued to argue, the customers began to eat the rice the two had cooked, some moaning in pleasure, their clothes practically falling off, and pleasurable tingles crawling on their backs.

"B-but yours was really good, too, Yukihira-chan!" Mayumi reassured the red-headed female, her fisted-hands above her chest. "I've never had such delicious Chinese fried rice!" she continued.

Souma only had a blue, depressed aura around her. "Arigatou..." she thanked the brown-haired female, her eyes shadowed with animated tears running down her face. "I've also got a new dish ready that I had just made up. Would you like to try?" Souma held up a bowl in one hand and chopsticks on the other.

Mayumi instantly brightened up, a kind smile on her face, as well as a faint pink blush. "Really? I would love to!"

"It's a flame-grilled squid tentacle with peanut butter." Souma explained, her voice going lower in a somewhat scheming and dark way.

Mayumi only blinked, "Eh?"

The others behind Mayumi gaped in shock and the female with short, sandy-blonde hair stared with wide eyes. "Mayu!"

"Whoa, she's at it again!"

"She made another crazy one!"

Mayumi could only back away in fear as Souma closed in on her, her hand raised with the tentacle already in between the chopsticks and a mad, sinister grin on the red-head's face. "Here, dig in. It's so disgusting, you'll laugh."

"N-no—!"

Before Mayumi could even finish, Souma already placed the peanut butter tentacle inside the brunette's mouth. "Mmn!"

The moment it touched her tongue, Mayumi instantly felt like a tentacle had wrap around her wrist, on her thigh and everywhere despite her protests.

"Iie!"

It ripped off the front of her uniform, the tentacle roaming on her stomach as more of them wrapped themselves around her wrist, arms, legs, and ankles, and one nudging on her cheek as Mayumi struggled. It was massaging her chest, her small of her back, her hips and more.

' _The flavor of the tentacles took a turn in the wrong direction._ ' she described, ' _It tasted so bad, it felt like my whole body was being groped by them._ '

 **Was what the girl said afterwards.**

 **Cooking was an endless wasteland... A wasteland dotted with flavors both delicious and disgusting.**

"And I want to walk beyond that horizon." Souma stated, nearly glowing in the light as the blue sky surrounded her.

"Urusai, baka-chan! Walk there yourself!" the sandy-blond girl reprimanded, a tick mark throbbing on her head. And the imaginary blue sky behind Souma disappeared instantaneously. The sandy-blond looked away from the red-headed beauty to look at the shivering Mayumi she held by her shoulders, waterfall-tears falling down the brunette's face. "Hang in there, Mayu! Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Mayumi only continued to comically cry in chibi-form, "The squid... The squid is..." she couldn't continue as her body quivered, her tongue most probably violated from the disgusting taste.

The same male-student who entered the restaurant leaned in towards his friend. "Yukihira-chan is always so happy when making people eat her mistakes." he whispered.

His dark-haired only agreed. "If not for that habit of hers, she'd be a decent chef." he looked over behind him to see Souma still admiring her own work while facing to no one in particular.

Jouichirou stepped out of the room, standing beside the red-head. "But the dried sardines with strawberry jam that I made was still worse, huh, Souma?" a small smirk was on his face.

Souma smiled back languidly, "Ah, right." an image of a plate filled with dried sardines layered with strawberry jam with stem leaves on top appeared on their heads. "That was the nastiness of epic proportions." she agreed, her tone going devious.

"Right?"

In chibi-form, Souma only wiggled her arms slowly, a smirk on her face. "But the peanut butter tentacles are far worse!"

"No way! Sardines with jam are worse!"

"Peanut butter tentacles are worse!"

In midst of their banter, the customers in the background only deadpanned or sweat dropped at the two. "Yeah, with a 'tou-san like that, I guess she makes sense..."

"Mine was worse!" the father-daughter duo yelled simultaneously and the many customers could only sweat drop at the moment.

* * *

After the cooking battle earlier, it was now night time and the Yukihira restaurant was still buzzing with business and customers loving the food.

"One liver and garlic chives meal," Souma smiled while she placed a cooked dish to three-people's table.

"Could I get the meat and tofu meal?" one customer asked, raising his hand at the red head. His friend beside him also raised a hand, "I'll have today's special."

Souma smiled; "Got it!" she faced her father, telling him the orders. "One meat and tofu and one special!"

"Got it," Jouichirou responded back, shaking the pan up and the food jumped up on the air and landing back on the pan gracefully.

* * *

The last customers head out of the restaurant, all satisfied and stuffed with the food the father-daughter duo had made.

"Whew, I'm full!"

"Thank you for the meal!"

"Thanks for coming!" Jouichirou said from inside.

In a car near the Yukihira restaurant, the window slid down for a woman with sunglasses looking over at the place, an unreadable look on her face.

* * *

Souma placed the tray of bowls and plates down on the table before grabbing a wet cloth, wiping the table nearby and the rest as well. Afterwards, she started wiping the glasses and cups, rubbing them clean and spotless.

"Souma," Jouichirou called out, looking over his shoulder at his daughter. "When you're done, kill the flame on the charcoal grill." he told her. Souma said nothing as she continued to clean the glasses, seeming deep in thought. When there was no response, Jouichirou fully turned his attention to his daughter, a hint of concern in his eyes before it was replaced with confusion.

"I should've shaken the pan three more times for that Chinese fried rice..." Souma mumbled, absently rubbing the piece of cloth on the sides of the cup. There would have been a chance that she could have won if she paid more attention to how many times she shook the pan. A frown soon adorned her features. ' _I'll be graduating from middle school soon. After that, I'll be able to study cooking more._ '

An image of her standing in front of the Yukihira restaurant flashed on her mind. ' _I want to surpass otou-san as soon as I can! Then, I'll take over as chef for this restaurant!_ ' she unconsciously gripped the cloth tighter on her hand.

Jouichirou continued to watch his daughter from the corner of his eye, his face blank and unreadable.

The sound of the entrance door sliding open got Souma finally out of her thoughts and perked up, lifting her gaze from the cup. "Ah, welco—" she stopped herself mid-way and her face darkened briefly, shutting her mouth close.

In front of Souma were four _(unwanted)_ people, three men in suits and one woman with dark-violet hair, and all four were wearing dark glasses.

"Pardon us." the woman said, walking forward as she faced Jouichirou's figure, seeing him still busy with the dishes before turning away. "It looks like you're still open, but please forgive us for barging in." she continued, nearing the red-headed teen in front of her.

"I'm urban life planner, Minegasaki." she introduced, pulling her shades off her eyes to reveal purple orbs and leaned down, her bust shifting slightly.

"What would you like?" Souma immediately asked with her arms crossed, looking somewhat impatient and bored at the same time.

"Eh?" was all the violet-haired woman could say, confusion laced on her tone. Not understanding what the teen meant.

Souma only continued with nonchalance, "Today, we recommend the golden-eye sea bream sashimi, and..."

"Iie," she cut the red-head off, a smile on her face. "I'm here today to consult once more about the plan we discussed the other day." she placed a thin paper-book, with an image of a luxurious building, in front of the table across the red-head. "We'd love to bring this comfortable and luxurious urban apartment building, designed in the ' _Garden Residence_ ' concept, to this town—"

Before she could finish, Souma dumped the grill-cooker on top of the paper with one hand and a cloth underneath to cool the heat on the metal handle. The woman backed off slightly in surprise, finding it a little rude to be interrupted.

"In short, you people are land sharks, and you want us out of here." Souma started; voice bland and disinterested. The men stared in disbelief at the guts the red-head had to cut off their boss, whilst Jouichirou only continued to wash the dishes, seeming to ignore their presence. "We've all heard this." a blank smile was on Souma's face. "Go home. We have no intention of shutting this place down."

The woman still had her business-smile on her face, "Then," she set down a card in front of the grill, and in the card had her name on it, ' _Minegasaki Yaeko_ '. "I'll just leave my card here. Call me anytime."

Yaeko looked over her shoulder to see the owner of Yukihira restaurant, missing the dark look that surfaced the gold-eyed teen's face before turning blank. "But, sir, given the times, I'm sure it'll grow increasingly difficult to manage a small-scale eatery like this. I hear many restaurants agonize every day over keeping up their stock."

"We don't have that problem." Souma commented dryly, catching Yaeko's attention.

"Is that so?"

Souma grunted softly and quietly, "Yukihira takes the responsibility of offering the meals our customers want." she answered monotonously.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Yaeko smiled brightly, but the smile never reached her eyes and it didn't fool Souma. "You're everything the service industry should be!" she complimented, before a deceitful look appeared on her face as she tilted her head to the right. "But if you can't serve what your customer want," she took a step closer to the red-head, crossing her arms under her busty chest. "How will you take responsibility?" she finished, staring expectantly.

Souma stared for a second before sighing, her eyes closed as she grabbed a utensil-clip, picking the business card between them. "If that happens...we'll gracefully close up the shop and go out of business." an empty smile was on her face when she raised the utensil above the grill and released the card, letting it flutter down to the grill and crumble up in ashes by the gentle fire.

Yaeko watched it disappear into small particles before lifting her gaze back to the red-head with her business-smile, unfazed. "You won't take it back?" she asked kindly.

Souma stared back, an unreadable glint in her golden eyes. "Un,"

Yaeko stared at the red-head's golden eyes a little longer, a glint in her eyes, before wearing her shades back. "Then I'll return later." was the last thing she said before she and her men walked out the door, leaving the building while Souma observed them go.

When they finally left, Souma turned to her father, "Oyaji! The salt! Throw the salt!"

"Nope. That'd be a waste of salt."

* * *

It was the next day, and school had ended for Souma as she walked away, slinging her bag over her right shoulder.

"What do you wanna do now?"

"Ano... Karaoke?"

"What are the rules, then?"

As the other male students continued to chatter, Mayumi noticed Souma's ever-so-noticeable spiky red and dark-red hair tied in a low ponytail. Mayumi watched the red-head walk away, worry visible in her eyes as the contest previously popped into her head.

"Mayu!" her friend called, and Mayumi jolted out of her thoughts. She stared at the red-head one last time before turning away, catching up with her friends.

* * *

Souma was now walking back home, holding a bag in one arm to her chest. A vibrated ring was heard and she took her phone out, her eyes reading the screen. Seeing the familiar contact, she pressed the screen and brought her phone to her ear. "Oyaji?"

" _Yeah, you home yet?_ "

"Iie, I picked up some stuff for breakfast." she told him, "What's up?" she asked, knowing that that wasn't all there was to say.

" _I'm out taking care of some things today._ "

"Eh? That's unusual." she frowned slightly.

" _I won't be home until tomorrow, so you don't have to open the restaurant._ "

A small smile twitched on Souma's face. "Hai,"

It was silent on the end of both lines, with Souma just waiting in case her father would say more, before he spoke up again. " _Hey..._ " Souma grunted softly, notifying her father that she was listening.

" _What do you plan after middle school?_ "

Souma looked at her phone from the corner of her eye as she stopped in her tracks, confused as to why he would ask her that again. "You should know that. I'll study cooking at the restaurant." Jouichirou was silent for a moment.

" _...I see._ " and with that, he hung up the phone, leaving the red-head a little more confused. She pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at it with confusion. "What was that about, otou-san?" she mumbled, feeling heat rushing to her cheeks and sighed. Souma doesn't really call Jouichirou ' _otou-san_ ' that much; rather, she just calls him ' _oyaji_ '.

' _And..._ ' she continued in her mind, looking at the sunset beside her as it slowly sets down behind a few buildings. ' _What's so important that he'd close the restaurant for a day?_ ' she frowned, continuing her walk back to home. It was unusual for him to close it down since that never really happened. Well, at least not all the time.

' _Otou-san doesn't really talk about himself that much._ ' she paused, setting her gaze on her feet as images flashed on her head. ' _Now that I think about it, I might not know anything at all...about my otou-san as a chef._ '

* * *

Souma closed the fence of the back of the restaurant. She walked past the trashcans and stalked to the door where all the ingredients would be. She took the key out, hearing it jiggle, and inserted it in the doorknob before pulling the door open.

She didn't expect what came next.

"Eh?" but Souma's eyes went wide at the sight that greeted her. All the meat was on the ground, ruined and tampered as salt was everywhere and a few pieces and chunks of meat splattered. ' _The meat..._ ' she moved her gaze to the ingredients and seasonings that were also in ruins inside the shelves.

' _...is ruined?_ ' she finished, taking a single step inside the pantry as her mind whirled with why's and how's. ' _A burglar? No, a burglar wouldn't do this..._ ' she examined the place, before something popped into her head and her eyes widened slightly. She opened the door connected to the pantry and outside the diner, sliding the door open.

Souma looked out, eyes everywhere outside and was confused for a moment before a splatter was heard near her feet. She looked at the white goo before turning her gaze behind her, and gasped as her attention was now on the banner that had the name of her father's restaurant. The sign was covered, and the name could no longer be distinguished.

"Ara!" a cheery, feminine voice was heard behind the red-head. Yaeko made herself known with a smile, her eyes hidden underneath her dark sunglasses. "Things here appear to be much more in order than yesterday." she smirked behind the red-head's back. "Maybe it's because that ugly sign is covered up."

A second later, her guards walked up behind her whilst Yaeko nudged her shades. "Ah... Somehow, I'm in the mood to eat some meat." she mocked, knowing that all the meat was destroyed. Then, she removed her sunglasses, her eyes closed with a smile on her face. "That marbled steak I always have in Roppongi is just the best!" she explained, walking inside the restaurant with her guards following after her. Souma just had an unreadable look in her face.

"The juice just fills up my mouth," she described as the image of the steak in a pan with butter on top flashing on her head and sat down on one of the seats in the diner.

"Ne, little girl," she started, her leg going over her other one with her arms crossed under her chest. "Make me the juiciest meat dish you can make." she requested, and when seeing the red-head outside the door, she smiled. "Oh? Don't tell me you can't make it. Your customer is asking for meat."

Souma only continued to remain silent, her red bangs covering her eyes. Yaeko pushed more, "Can't you serve it?" she questioned, her tone going to a mocking edge. "Little girl, didn't you tell me yesterday..." she paused, a small smirk on her painted lips. "...that if you couldn't serve a customer, you'd go out of business?"

Yaeko's eyes trailed up to where the sign would be located at, "Your sign already looks much better. It's a perfect timing." her gaze went back to the silent red-head, leaning her head down slightly. "You should just shut this restaurant down." she suggested, before bringing the back of her hand beside her mouth and laughed, cheeks flushed slightly.

Souma inhaled silently before breathing out heavily, gaining their attention and stared at her in puzzlement. "A juicy meat dish?" Yaeko brought her hand back down, feeling a little on edge at the intense feeling from the red-head.

Souma started un-wrapping the white cloth in her wrist, pulling it away as it fluttered around her in an elegant way. "Is that your order?" she inquired, pulling her school jacket _(for males)_ off her shoulders in one go, her bangs still blocking her eyes. "Swear that you'll never enter this restaurant again, if I serve a meal that satisfies your palate."

Yaeko's eyes widened in shock, not expecting the red-headed teen to accept the challenge.

Souma pulled the edges of her headband that covered her forehead and pulled her hair to a high-ponytail, and also pulled the tie of her white apron on her waist.

Yaeko leaned back on her seat and the three men took a step, visibly intimidated by the female-teen as the wind somehow waved her apron around.

Souma's head snapped up, her golden eyes glinting with something unreadable and glared at them, her lips pulled back to a snarl. "The battle's on!"

* * *

The red-head's back faced the four adults behind her as she leaned on the counter, getting ready, before pulling a cutting-board out in front. She also threw in some potatoes, letting them roll down on the table.

Souma held a knife above and near her face; eyes blocked by her hair, before with one shift of her head, her bangs immediately showed her determined, golden eyes and grinned. She instantly started slicing the potatoes in half and twice, doing it repeatedly with the other row of potatoes.

After, she began slicing and mincing some onions, cutting them to near-crumbs and slicing another vegetable into tiny pieces with incredible speed.

With the fire high, Souma grabbed a cloth and used it to open the cover of the pot, letting the steam blow off from the potatoes. She also started heating up the bits of onions, watching them turn to a beautiful brown color.

Yaeko and the three men watched in astonishment and shock at the performance the red-headed female was giving them, their eyes wide at her speed and precision

"Wait..." Yaeko muttered, before turning to one of her guards behind her right. "You ruined everything in the fridge like we planned, right?" the man with slightly long black hair nodded, "H-hai! We didn't leave a single scrap of meat behind."

Yaeko looked back at the red-head who was still cooking, her eyes filled with shock and bewilderment. "I asked you for juicy meat!" she exclaimed, her voice still toned-down, and brought a thoughtful hand to her chin. Her mind was whirling with thoughts but was still stumped to a dead-end. "What are you making, without any decent ingredients?!"

Souma only had a wide grin on her face, her hair blocking her eyes once more, as she grinded something on the steel bowl. Then, her hands released graceful rosemary leaves that were small and delicate, letting it fall on the meat on the table. Salt and pepper seasoning also being used.

Souma pulled back a thin, yet strong, roll of string, a grin stretching on her face began wrapping it around the meat. And when she was done, the gold-eyed teen placed meat into the oven, turning it on.

Next, she grabbed a bottle of wine, pouring it into the pan and began frying it with something that the four customers couldn't see. The butter she put in there was slowly getting swallowed by the wine.

Yaeko could only stare with wide eyes and mouth slightly open in shock at the presentation in front of her as the three men decided to comment.

"Why—?!"

"How did she..."

"...make such a perfect..."

"...pork roast?!" Yaeko finished, the sight of the meat in front of them was nearly glistening under the light, the outside brown and crispy and beautiful, and the sauce below it, the wine Souma used, looking absolutely divine.

The red-head looked at them all, now holding the plate of meat with one hand and the other on her hip. "Let me answer that," she smiled, bordering to a smirk, and pointed at the dish in her hand. "This is potatoes wrapped in the thick-cut bacon I bought for tomorrow's breakfast." she told them, before placing the dish in the table in front of them, snapping her finger.

"It's called ' _Gotcha_ ' Pork Roast!" she grinned, almost looking triumph, but close enough.

The four stared dumbfounded at the red-head and the dish, unable to fully process the information in their heads.

"Potatoes...?"

"' _Gotcha_ '?"

"Roast?"

"That's right." Souma nodded slightly, grabbing the plate in her hand once more and gestured with her other hand. "First, I steam the potatoes..." she trailed off, blinking before looking around the four, appearing clueless. "Eh? What's this atmosphere?" she asked, and anyone could literally see question marks floating around her head.

Yaeko put a hand on her chin, her eyes blank and looking a little offended. "Are you making a fool out of me?" she questioned. Souma stared impassively when the business-woman slammed a hand on the table. "I told you to serve me meat!" Yaeko stated, annoyance and a hint of anger lacing her tone.

"There's no room for negotiations anymore. Give this restaurant to me!" she continued, narrowing her eyes at the red-headed teen. "Listen to me! The chefs who find true success, work in first class restaurants or luxury hotels like the ones I've produced." her purple eyes seemed to hold fury underneath, almost as if she thought Souma was mocking her palate.

"This is a failure! If you ask me, this restaurant isn't even worth existing!" she said, eyes closed with her arms folded under her chest. Yaeko jolted slightly, snapping her head back up when Souma practically slammed the dish on the table.

"This one dish will tell you whether or not Yukihira," Souma started, head bowed and eyes covered before lifting it up, golden eyes reflecting Yaeko's face. "Is even worthy of existing." she finished, her tone somehow having the intense control and the purple-eyed woman stared back with wide eyes.

A heartbeat later, Yaeko was now sitting in one of the tables, her arms crossed as she glared back at the red-head's enticing golden eyes, the dish of the night right in front of her. Souma leaned forward slightly, one hand on the surface of the table and one hand on her hip.

"Oagariyo!" Souma smirked slightly.

After a moment of silence, Yaeko continued to stare at the dish served in front of her, before suddenly, the smell of the potato-wrapped-bacon soon found its way to her nose. She inhaled the smell, a blush appearing on her face as her eyes turned hazy and cloudy, almost as if under a spell by just the smell.

Her hand reluctantly, and hesitantly, reached for the steel fork, before finally grasping it in her fingers. The men behind watched with nervousness and anticipation. Yaeko then gently stabbed the fork in the meat, slicing a piece that was neither too big nor too small.

Souma remained blank-faced, eyes covered, as Yaeko slowly brought the meat to her slowly opening mouth. Then finally, her lips closed around the fork, the meat now inside her mouth.

Her purple eyes widened instantly when a burst of flavor suddenly exploded in her mouth, almost as if the potatoes burst out of the bacon wrapped around it. ' _Each time I chew, the fragrant juice of the slow-roasted bacon...pours into my mouth!_ ' the flavor of it nearly made her legs weak and her chest feeling fuzzy and warm. After the whole thing was swallowed, she gasped out, almost resembling a moan, as her cheeks heats up in flames.

When Yaeko was no longer in her fantasy of flavors, she leaned her head back slightly when the red-headed teen leaned closer to her face, a smirk present. "You look like you're enjoying that." Yaeko gasped faintly at the statement, not believing that one bit and cursed at her body's refusal to refuse that statement.

"This was made at the restaurant you ridiculed." Souma said, her golden eyes boring into Yaeko's purple ones. "Shall I tell you the secret of this flavor?" the business-woman only stared, and Souma took that sign to explain.

The image of the potatoes being steamed in the pot prior was imprinted in their heads. "I steam the potatoes until they're soft," Souma showed them some eringi mushrooms. "Then chop mushrooms full of fiber to soak up the oils-" Green onions were shown as well. "-and onions to add sweetness, and knead them together."

The two were chopped into pieces and mixed into the potatoes. "Then I wrap thick-cut bacon around it," the image then soon turned to the potato-wrapped bacon getting cooked in the oven with a kite string tied around it with rosemary leaves on top of it, "and roast it slowly in the oven. That makes the bacon crispy on the outside, while the potatoes and mushroom soak up all the savory flavor and oils of the pork."

The red wine was mixed with soy sauce and sweet sake, including the butter earlier getting melted inside the mix. In the bowl, the mixed wine was poured onto the meat. "And so... A sensual new texture, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, is born!" Souma explained, and the smell of the glamorous meat soon reached the other three men, all looking intimidated by how enticing and inviting the smell was.

Yaeko was squirming in her seat, hand in-between her knees as the red-headed cook continued to talk. "A long time ago, when I made potato salad to serve a customer, I made a mistake in plating it, and the meat juices got soaked into the potatoes."

Souma had her eyes covered once more, her tone serious. "That's where I got the idea for this dish..." then she lifted her head up with her hands on her hips, a smile on her face. "...From a mistake."

The aroma still continued to fill the air, almost the entire diner, and Yaeko squirmed in her seat, eyes shadowed. "So what?" she gulped, feeling breathless. "You can't call this a meat dish!" she protested, her grip on the fork trembling. "But... I can't..." she slowly started, and gripped the fork tighter. "...stop eating it!" she declared, her feet curling from her shoes and her chest heaving before standing up.

Yaeko brought her fork up, hesitantly turning it down since a part of her mind wanted to resist, but she couldn't. ' _I want to taste more meat juice!_ ' right when her fork was about to stab into the delicious meat, Souma immediately took the plate away seconds before she could. The purple-eyed woman looked shocked at the red-head, with a hint of desperation. "Wh-what are you doing?!"

The red-head's back faced her, not looking. "If you want more, promise me..." Yaeko's gaze moved to the appetizing meat on the teen's hand. "...that you won't come after this restaurant again." Souma practically demanded.

Yaeko narrowed her eyes, a forced smile on her painted lips as she held the fork, not about to put it away anytime soon. "Huh? Who would promise that?" she retorted, putting out a strong front but her will was slowly diminishing.

A mischievous smirk was playing on Souma's naturally rose lips. "Ah, I see." she started walking away from the woman, making her way to where the trash would be. "Then, it's a waste, but I have no choice." she mocked sadness, passing by the men as the smell grew closer to them. To everyone's view, it seemed like Souma's figure was slowly heading towards the abyss where the meat will no longer be seen by light ever again. "I'll have to take this, and..."

Yaeko's hand reached out, "M-matte!" she called out, her eyes wavering with faint tears as her voice now turned fully desperate. "I promise! I promise, okay?!"

Souma stopped in her tracks, her head peering over at her shoulder by the corner of her skeptical eyes. "Ah?"

Yaeko panted slightly, the smell reaching out to her and begging her to take the mouth-watering meat into her mouth. Her hands were now near her chest in a begging way. "Let me..." her eyes moved away from the red-head, and finally gave in to temptation. "...have...some...more, please?"

Souma stayed silent for a second before a victorious grin made its way to her face, and placed the meat back in the desperate-woman's table, the whole aroma swirling around the room.

Yaeko gulped and finally stabbed the fork into the meat, the juices sliding out. The other three men now had a fork in each of their hands as they, too, started eating along with the violet-haired woman.

Soon enough, they all took one bite of the heavenly meat, wrapping their mouths on the fork, and the juices nearly spilled out. The taste was so amazing, that it felt like their clothes had started getting ripped apart, just like the juices in the potatoes bursting in their taste buds, and the flavors bursting around their body, giving them a pleasurable feeling.

' _Meat juices!_ ' they all screamed, the juices getting together before, finally, exploding to small, droplets of enticing rain of savory meat juice.

Souma pulled the end of her headband, letting her messy red hair tied with it to flow out gracefully around her and fall on her shoulders. Her back was turned to the four adults, who were lying on the ground and full from the glorious meat, as the sun started showing itself, the rays washed over through the windows.

Souma was slowly wrapping the white headband back to her wrist, eyes closed as red lashes brushed against her cheek. Her head snapped up, golden eyes open, a triumph grin appeared on her flawless face.

"Osomatsu!"

* * *

Hours later as the sun started rising up from the clouds, Souma was sitting on top of a ladder-stool, green cloves covering her small and pale hands while she cleansed the white substance off the Yukihira sign, spraying it as well to remove it with the white cloth easily.

' _No matter what happens, I won't let this restaurant go under._ ' she smiled fondly, her golden eyes softening ever-so-slightly. ' _Yukihira is my castle for perfecting my cooking!_ ' not only that, a lot of memories was also made there.

A street cat was sitting, watching the red-headed beauty up there, before running away when footsteps was heard from behind. Souma paused briefly from her cleaning and looked to the side, her eyes taking in the sight of her father, one hand in his pocket and the other slinging his bag on his right shoulder.

"Oyaji?"

Jouichirou had a small smile on his face, "Looks like something happened." he enquired.

Souma smiled back, a hint of sheepishness in it. "Nothing important." she said, "I just had a rude customer." before going back to cleaning.

Jouichirou's smile faded to a frown, an unreadable glint flashing through his eyes at the thought of rude customers approaching his daughter, but the thought went away as he was positive Souma knew how to handle herself. He stared a little while longer at the smile gracing his daughter's features while she wiped the sign clean, before speaking up again.

"Souma,"

The red-head paused again and gazed down at her father, a questioning look on her face. The two stared at each other, copper-gold clashing with golden-yellow. "For two or three years, I'm going to..."

Souma blinked, waiting for her father to finish his sentence, before Jouichirou—

"...close the restaurant."

—dropped the bomb.

"EEEH?!" Souma exclaimed in disbelief, her big golden eyes going wide, before realizing she accidentally tipped the ladder from pushing away from the sign, causing it to fall. "Kyaaa!" she squeaked, shutting her eyes close and wait for the impact when the sound of the ladder clattered in the ground loudly, but it never came.

Instead, she felt strong and secure arms on her shoulder and under her knees, getting pulled to a strong chest. Souma fluttered her eyes open hesitantly before peering up, seeing her father gazing down at her with a warm smile, and a hint of worry and concern in his eyes. His bag that he was holding prior seemed to be abandoned on the ground where he last stood, just to move his attention to his clueless daughter.

"You need to watch what you're doing, Souma-chan." Jouichirou teased warmly _(even if he was literally very worried for her safety and was glad he made it on time—)_ , a fond smile on his face when the red-head in his arms flushed bright red in indignation at the honorific.

"Urusai, oyaji! A-and put me down and explain what you mean!"

"Hai, hai. You know, I'll have to apologize to our regulars."

"Apologize to your daughter first!"

* * *

 _"An old friend of mine suggested working together with me." Jouichirou explained, placing his bag on the table as Souma entered the restaurant behind him._

 _"Wha—" Souma stopped, disbelief clear in her eyes._

 _"I'll be living with them for a while, so I won't be back here."_

The sakura petals fluttered to the ground as Souma walked to where her destination would be, her left hand gripping the map.

 _"But, you can't just..."_

Her red head covered her golden eyes, slight frown adorned her face, and ignored the loud cars passing beside her.

 _"Oi, oyaji!"_

 _"As soon as I get my stuff together, I'm leaving." Jouichirou continued, walking to who-knows-where._

 _"Wait..."_

 _"I'll send you some money to live on."_

 _"I said wait!" Souma raised her voice, finally getting her father's attention as he stopped on his tracks._

 _The red-head folded her hand into a fist, trembling ever-so-slightly, with her hair shadowing her eyes, "I always...want this restaurant to..." she hesitated, before hearing footsteps nearing her and a hand suddenly on her hair, gently rubbing it._

 _Souma blinked, lifting her head to see her father smiling affectionately at her. "It's time for you to go, Souma-chan. Go figure out what you want."_

The paper in Souma's hand was crumpled by her tightened grip and she sighed, holding the bag she was slinging over her right shoulder _(just like her father)_.

 _"Cooking school?" Souma uttered, staring at the paper in her hands that said '_ Educational Intuition Engetsu Teahouse Culinary Academy Transfer Information _'. "Why do I have to go to a school like this now?" she asked; a small pout of confusion on her face that the brown-haired man resisted the urge to just pinch her cheeks. He successfully did so_ (thankfully)

 _"It's a perfect timing, isn't it?" Jouichirou started, ignoring his former thoughts, "I'm closing the restaurant, and you can earn high school credits there." he said._

 _"Just go study there for three years."_

 _Souma looked up from the form, and Jouichirou noticed her eyes getting glossy. "You'll... I can still see you again, right, otou-san? You'll call me?" she asked slowly, trying to remain impassive to the news and the way she called her father, but failed as her voice cracked._

 _Jouichirou's eyes widen slightly in surprise, before softening completely, filled with love and fondness, and pulled his daughter to a tight hug. Souma was still for a moment, before returning the hug by wrapping her slender arms around her father's torso and buried her face on his chest, hiding her burning, embarrassed, and teary eyed face. Souma was, after all, not one to really show sad emotions. Jouichirou noticed but made no comment, just smiling in his daughter's messy, yet incredibly soft, red hair._

 _"I promise."_

Souma sighed again, her eyes shining with slight boredom and stuffed her free hand in her pocket _(she was not wearing a skirt, rather, the same pants instead, because her father strictly told her to never_ ever _wear a skirt, not that she could ever comprehend the reason why)_. "Paying to learn how to cook is stupid." she pouted, ignoring her bangs tickling her ears as best as she could to avoid giggling that was unlike her.

"A culinary school is just gonna be like..." she trailed off, thinking of an old man trembling and telling her how to do this and do that, all the students saying ' _hai, sensei!_ ', before a somewhat agonizing scream caught her attention.

"Ara?"

She looked to her right to see two male students on the ground in dismay.

"I failed the advancement test!"

"I'm done for... My life is over..."

Another voice of desperation got Souma's attention to look behind her, confusion on her pretty face.

"I beg you!"

The red-head saw a man on his knees, gripping a security guard's vest and arm. "I'll donate ten-million, or even twenty-million!" he screamed and sobbed, and the guard only eyed the man with distaste and irritation. "Just take back my son's expulsion!"

"What's going on...?" Souma mumbled, a confused frown on her face as she moved her head up, before a look of shock and bewilderment found its way.

Her eyes trailed on the sign that said ' _Engetsu Teahouse Culinary Academy_ ', her hand limply holding the phone that was now dialing her father.

" _Oh? I didn't tell you?_ " Jouichirou's amused voice said though the phone.

" _That's Japan's top culinary school, with a graduation rate of less than ten-percent._ " he continued, while Souma took in the sight of the ' _academy_ ' that seemed to be bigger than a mountain!

" _It's a super elite intuition._ " he finished, and all Souma could do was gape at the culinary academy she'll be attending.

 _Culinary Academy her_ behind!

* * *

 **End of Ep. 1 and Chapter 1!**

 **Since I'm new at writing here, 'cause I usually only read, I hope you don't mind some errors here and there. :D**

 _Written: 07/29-30/18_

 ** _Osomatsu~!_**


	2. Plate Two:

**If anyone was wondering, this is my imagination of how the SnS world would handle a Fem!Souma. So there will be slight changes and developing bonds and relationships with a female Souma** (and a harem, 'cause who doesn't want Souma to have a harem? She-or he's the best!)

 **Again, this is just a draft to write everything in the anime down before I edit it the way I want, like also changing the dialogue because the subs doesn't always makes sense. Hope you don't mind the mistakes and errors! :D**

* * *

A bowl of soup in a round tray was placed on the wooden floor with chopsticks properly put near it. Steam was emitting from it, indicating that the dish had just been made. It looked elegant and simple.

"This is the final dish." a man specified.

A young, female teen with honey-blonde hair brought up the bowl of soup near her face, discreetly examining it with purple-pink eyes before lifting it to her lips, tilting it back slightly for the liquid to enter pass her mouth.

After a taste, she gently lowered it to her lap, eyes closed in concentration whilst sitting in seiza style. She grunted softly, her brows furrowing faintly in thought.

A droplet of water fell, and the scenery soon changed around her with her sitting on a hot spring, her hand gripping the small towel that was covering her modesty. A cloth was also tied around her head, securing her hair from falling off. She had the most relaxed face ever, cheeks flushed pink in satisfaction.

A gorilla sniffed the air, sitting right across the honey-blond female. The said girl opened her eyes slowly in confusion, before seeing the gorilla in front of her. She stared, before lets out a startled yelp and stood up from the waters.

"Disgusting!" she yelled, slamming the hot, steaming bowl on the head of the guy who created said dish. He yelped at the hot liquid of the soup touching his head, hair, and skin, the soup burning it slightly from the heat.

The honey-blond remained unfazed as she folded her arms under her chest and faced the other men who also created a dish she had tried. "It's incredible that you managed to come up with this many train wrecks." she said, voice filled with distaste. "The last oyster gruel, in particular, was as if..." she lowered her head and closed her purple-pink eyes, like the last dish was beyond comprehendible for her to even describe because of how bad it was.

"...as if I were taking a bath with a western lowland gorilla!" she finished, and all the people with bowls in their heads, in a similar way she had done to the previous guy, stared at her with visible question marks on their heads, not understanding what she meant but assumed in a different way.

"She's being deep again..."

"Her palate is not the same as a mere mortal's..."

A shadow covered her eyes as the wind gently moved her long hair, "It seems you omitted one of the steps in prep work." the guy who was still in the ground peered up at her with slight fear in his eyes. "I am aware that your restaurant group is expanding, and that you're trying to increase efficiency for that reason. But do you dare presume that gives you the right to defile my tongue with such food?" her purple orbs were boring into the man's eyes, authority radiating from her whole being. Almost like the man was just a low-being standing in her way.

The man had tears forming in his eyes, no longer feeling the heat from the soup, as the other men bowed down to the honey-blond teen. "M-m-my apologies, Erina-ojou-sama!" he bowed as well, and everyone apologized to the heiress as she stood tall.

* * *

 _The red-head folded her hand into a fist, trembling ever-so-slightly, with her hair shadowing her eyes, "I always...want this restaurant to..." she hesitated, before hearing footsteps nearing her and a hand suddenly on her hair, gently rubbing it._

 _Souma blinked, lifting her head to see her father smiling affectionately at her. "It's time for you to go, Souma-chan. Go figure out what you want."_

Souma stared at the building with wide golden eyes and jaw dropped open, clearly intimidated by the size of the whole place. She could barely see the full building since the clouds were shadowing the top.

"I'm totally out of place here," Souma muttered, eyeing the many, expensive-looking cars and equally expensive-looking people. "Why do all the other applicants have butlers and guards and stuff?" she said to her father on the phone.

" _Oh? Did I forget to mention? You're taking the transfer admission exam for one of the best culinary schools in the country._ " Jouichirou explained, a hint of smugness wrapping on his words. " _The graduation rate is less than ten-percent. It's an elite institution._ "

Souma only blinked cluelessly, her mouth still wide open as she tried to sink the information in her head.

" _Best of luck with that, Souma-chan._ "

" _Hey, Jo! Please wait a moment!_ " another unfamiliar, male voice was heard from the phone, causing Souma's red eyebrow to lift up in confusion. She recognized didn't know the language, the guy sounded very foreign.

"Where are you right now, oyaji?" Souma asked, wondering what country he was on.

" _New York City._ " he answered the confused red-head. " _In the VIP reception hall of Manhattan Royal Hotel,_ "

"Hah?" Souma made a noncommittal sound in confusion.

* * *

In New York City in an incredibly luxurious hotel, Jouichirou held two plates up with his hands, and the phone was in-between his ear and shoulder, side-glancing at said phone. "That's where I'm cooking right now."

"Hey, Jo!" a round man called out, sitting on a chair with a bib on his neck, and held a fork and knife on his hands. "Thanks for coming back to New York!" his smile grew bigger and eyes slid closed, "This is the best dinner ever!" he laughed joyfully.

Jouichirou looked at the man, "Oi, simmer down, Doctor McFly!" he scolded lightly, "You wouldn't want your blood pressure to go up again!" the doctor only continued to laugh in joy, not minding the truth in the chef's words.

An old man took a bite of the delicious food with his fork, feeling it slide to his stomach and cleansed everything with a refreshing feeling. "Delicious!" he closed his eyes in content, "After taking a medical leave of absence from Congress, I'd resigned to myself to my fate, and considered my life fulfilled if I could eat Yukihira's cooking one last time, but this only makes me greedy for more!" he said, slicing another piece and held it up in front of him.

"Let's come again, sir!" a woman suggested, putting her hands together in hopeful delight.

"Yes! Many times as possible!" a man beside the dark-haired woman agreed with passion.

"Is Yukihira here?!" an old man with a bald head and orange robes tied around him exclaimed, bursting the doors wide open. Two more males were behind him; hold their master's arms to prevent him from going inside.

"Please come back, master!" they begged, doing their very best to hold the wise man back. "We're in midst of a feast! What example will we be to our disciples?"

"Bah, silence!" he broke free from their grip, "Are you telling me to turn away from Yukihira's cooking when it's right in front of me?!" then, he started, pulling his clothes off, "In that case, I reject my calling!"

"Master!"

While the commotion happened inside, Jouichirou walked out to the balcony, approaching his grill-cooker that was already heating something up. "I first went to India. Then Italy and Spain." he told his daughter, "I just got into America yesterday." a hand was placed on his hip. "I plan to cook in the cities on the East Coast for the time being."

" _Ha? I'm not following,_ " Souma's confused words was said through the phone, and Jouichirou could clearly imagine her equally confused _(and cute)_ pout.

"Well, let's just say someone called in a favor." his copper-gold eyes moved to the grill in front of him, seeing the squid getting cooked as his eyes softened slightly at how it reminded him of the red-head he was currently talking with. He took a tentacle that wasn't too hot and bit into it between his teeth.

"Hey, Souma-chan," he started, leaning his back on the rails of the balcony and rested his arms on there, his elbow on the surface as he held the phone. "If you can't survive that academy until graduation,"

* * *

" _You can kiss your hopes of surpassing me goodbye as a pipe dream._ " he finished; a small frown was on Souma's face. She started feeling annoyance, and caught the challenging hint, towards her father and grinned resolutely.

* * *

" _Just watch me!_ " she proclaimed, and Jouichirou could image the way she pumped her fist in the air. He closed his eyes, the tentacle still hanging on his teeth. "Good. Then let me tell you a special secret to improve your cooking..." before he could continue, the line was immediately cut off and Jouichirou stared in surprise at the phone.

"She cut me off." he said out loud, and he'll admit that he was a little befuddled. But then a soft smile appeared on his face, to a certain extent thinking that it was very ' _Souma-like_ ' to cut him off. That's his daughter alright.

"Where are you, Yukihira?!" a shout came from inside the hotel behind the closed doors of the balcony.

"I'm here!" he replied, walking away from the railings and to the doors as he slid his phone in his pocket. The amazing buildings of New York City shining behind his back as the many lights seemed to glow like stars from afar.

' _Listen up, Souma._ ' he thought in his head. ' _The trick to becoming a good chef is to meet someone you want to devote all of your cooking to._ ' the image of the picture-frame back in their home flashed in his head, a picture of him, a cute, little, short-haired Souma, and a woman beside the little girl in the center.

Then Jouichirou halted on his steps momentarily, an infuriated glare developing on his face. ' _But then again, Souma-chan is_ my _little girl, and I don't want any wild-animals near her!_ ' The ' _wild-animals_ ' being any male species, including some females, even if they're gentle or something.

Jouichirou wasn't dumb; he knew that both genders were attracted to _his_ beautiful little girl. He could see the way Souma's classmates always seemed to stare at his daughter with tender, affectionate eyes. There were moments he was proud at the fact that his little red-head would grow up to be a beauty _(and she was beautiful now as well)_ , but he sometimes cursed it because a lot of eyes somehow managed to move to her whenever her bright, eye-catching red-hair could be seen.

And there was also a fact that his daughter was a complete dense wall, and oblivious as a rock, too. But again, he also cursed that fact because Souma always unknowingly flirts with anyone by how honest and straight-forward she was.

Maybe sending her to Totsuki _was_ a bad idea after all...

* * *

In the hall of a traditional Japanese house, the honey-blonde haired teen, Erina, was walking forward, minding her own business before stopping briefly.

"So, what's next on my plate?" she asked, directing the question to the person behind her, with her eyes still closed. After that situation prior, she wondered if there were more things that needed her presence _(and judgement)_.

A female-teen around the same age as Erina stopped behind her. Her short pink hair shifting slightly with the stop and light-red eyes closed, bowing to the heiress in front of her while holding a clipboard out. "This, ojou-sama."

Erina took the folder out of the pinkette's hands and scanned the words displayed at the front as the pink-haired teen straightened her posture. "Judging transfer exams?" she questioned, before giving the clipboard back to the awaiting hands of the female.

"So this is the kind of grunt work I'd get for joining the executive board." she flicked her honey-colored hair away, turning back to the front. Slight annoyance filled her at the thought of so much work that might be unnecessary, but she had not choice whatsoever.

"I'll head over once I change."

* * *

' _Kuso..._ ' Souma grumbled in her head, her hands in her pocket and left her bag slung over her left shoulder. ' _A pipe dream, huh? Yeah, right. I'll definitely make it to graduation, dammit!_ ' she thought as she kicked a bench, and a sound of liquid jumping from a container sounded in her ears.

A male teen was sitting on the bench, elegantly folding his legs over as a cup of tea was held on his hand and eyes slid closed. Beside him was a man holding, what it seemed to be, the teen's bag, and on the other side was an old butler , holding a tray of tea.

"Ah, gomen!" Souma apologized immediately, bringing her leg back down. He looked very rich, and she was worried he might have stained his clothes because of her _(and that was all she was worried about)_. "I didn't mean to kick your seat,"

The sandy-blond teen turned to look at the red-head with his eyes still closed, appearing unfazed by the kick moving the bench. "No need to apologize." he assured, "You're also applying for a transfer, right?" he enquired, before continuing. "Take a seat, will you—" he trailed off when he finally opened his eyes and took in the sight of the female who kicked the bench.

His mouth was opened mid-way from finishing his sentence, the words stopping on his throat. The female in front of him had red, messy spiky hair that was tied to a loose ponytail behind her back. Her long, black lashes was glowing red under the light that dawned to her, and her golden-yellow eyes seemed to hold every emotion known. And he will admit, she was the most beautiful red-head he had ever seen.

Souma blinked, tilting her head in confusion at the weird look the teen was giving her and the redness on his face. "Hm? Is there something on my face?" she asked, pointing a clueless finger on her face to emphasize her point.

The boy blinked back in reality the moment Souma spoke. His face flushed brightly and coughed in his fist, inwardly embarrassed that he was caught appreciating the red-headed beauty. "I-Iie, there's nothing. Please, don't mind me."

A question mark was visible beside Souma's head but complied anyway and sat beside the boy.

"Anyways, with high school qualifying exam results being announced for Totsuki's junior high division, and exams being held for people like us hoping to transfer in, things are pretty lively today." the sandy-blonde explained as both he and Souma watched the many students pass by, talking and observing the academy around them _(while the former was secretly stealing glances from the oblivious female beside him)_.

"I'm Nikaido Yoshiaki. My family runs a French restaurant." he introduced himself, leaning back on the bench.

"Eh? What a coincidence. Mine runs a restaurant, too." Souma commented, leaning on her hands between her knees on the bench.

Yoshiaki sent a closed eye-smile at the red-head, "That may not be such a coincidence." he stated, confusing Souma slightly, and turned his head to the other two benches across them, making Souma look over as well.

"The guy over there's the heir to a national restaurant chain, and that other one's family runs a seafood wholesale business that supplies the entire Kanto region." he explained, "Almost everyone here has a cooking industry pedigree of some sort."

"Oh," Souma made an understanding and noncommittal sound, looking over at everyone around her. So all the students transferring here all had relations to a restaurant, huh?

"What's your place's name?" Yoshiaki asked kindly, wondering if he might have heard of the red-headed beauty's place.

"Ah, Yukihira."

"Yukihira..." he paused, giving some thought to it as he tested the word rolling off his tongue. "A traditional Japanese restaurant, then?" he enquired.

Souma laughed, almost as if the blond had just said a silly joke she couldn't believe. "Oh, we're not that high-brow." a smile was on her face as she closed her eyes, "We're a diner downtown..."

A sound of a glass shattering on the ground was heard beside the red-head, and Souma opened her eyes, directing her attention to the sound only to see the teacup Yoshiaki was holding on the ground in shards of pieces.

A dark aura was around the sandy-blond, his hair covering his eyes. "How dare you sit next to me..." he snapped his glaring eyes at her, disappointment clear on his face. "...you low-class commoner!"

Souma stood up from the bench, startled, and backed away from him, eyes narrowed slightly in confusion and slight offense at being called a low-class commoner.

"Listen up; this academy isn't for the likes of you! It is a sacred grove, meant as a place of learning for denizens of the upper echelons of the food industry!" he explained, standing in front of the red-headed beauty. It was a real shame that a beauty like her worked at a diner, he would've gotten along with her well.

"That's the kind of place Totsuki Teahouse Culinary Academy is! A low-born like you won't even make it past the written exam..." he continued, not paying in mind of Souma's darkening face before she snapped.

Her hand darted out to Yoshiaki's front shirt and lifted him up, a smile on her face with her golden eyes narrowed and a tick mark throbbing on her cheek, not caring _at all_ that she was choking the boy as foam started forming on the corners of his mouth. "You haven't even tried Yukihira's food! You don't get to judge our quality!" she scowled. How dare someone who had never tried the delicious dishes her father made call her restaurant low-class!

"Ojou!" the two servants yelled in concern after Souma dropped the sandy-blond to the ground, whilst the said red-headed girl strode away, a sour look on her pretty face.

While she was walking away, she ignored the other teens around her talking about her, having had seen the uproar.

"Look, someone from a _diner_ thinks she can transfer in."

"You've got to be kidding me,"

"She should know her place."

"But, hey, she's a total hottie!'

"Yeah, that's a pity. All the incredibly hot ones are always hard to get."

"Yeah..."

As they were whispering and chattering about Souma, meanwhile, the said red-head was busy grumbling and complaining in her head, not noticing a few of them ogling or openly appreciating her figure and some girls glaring in jealousy.

' _This isn't giving me high hopes for this place,_ ' she grumbled, ' _if this is how things are right off the bat, who knows what pompous ass I'll get as the examiner._ '

* * *

There was a crowd of students crowding in the room, all standing in front of two female-students and whispered to each other.

"Hey, is that..."

"Y-yeah..."

Souma blinked, peeking into the crowd to see two girls standing in the front of the said crowd.

"Greetings, transfer applicants," Erina's voice echoed through the place, causing it to turn silent in a manner of few seconds. "I am Nakiri Erina, and I have been assigned to judge today's transfer exam." Nakiri Erina, age fifteen and third-year in junior high, explained to the people in front of her with her arms crossed.

' _A girl...?_ ' Souma blinked again, feeling a hint of bewilderment filling her mind, totally forgetting the fact that she, too, was a girl. ' _And she's wearing the school uniform. She's the examiner?_ '

"Any word from the exam division?" Erina directed the question to the pink-haired girl beside her.

"I'll read it right now." the rose-eyed female answered, holding up the clipboard in front of her to read. "Examinees will first undergo interviews in groups of ten based on their applications." she started, "They will then undergo a practicum where they will cook three or so dishes. Those who will pass will..."

"Hmph,"

The pinkette paused, staring at the honey-blond female beside her in confusion at the interruption.

"How pointless," Erina uttered, opening her eyes and brought a finger to her chin in thought. "I have an idea." she said, eyeing the transferees in front of her.

"Bring the kitchen work table here!" she ordered, while all the others stared in confusion at the honey-blond teen.

"H-hai, ojou!"

A moment later, the pink-haired female pushed a table to Erina, the surface filled with numerous ingredients. The others started speaking up their confusion.

"Cooking ingredients?"

"What's she up to?"

Erina walked to the table with a hand on her hip, staring at all of the ingredients. A small, unreadable smile was on her face as she picked a lone egg with two fingers, taken in extra care, lifting it up for everyone to see.

"The main ingredient will be the egg." she started, facing the lot once more. "Make one dish. I'll only allow those whose creation impresses my palate to transfer into the academy." she stated, and everyone _(except Souma)_ stared in uneasiness at the single egg.

"Furthermore, I will allow those who wish to withdraw and cancel their application to do so within the next minute only." A feeling of power was surrounding Erina, a challenging dare in her voice.

Everyone soon had a feeling of dread pooling in their gut.

"What? One minute?"

"I...withdraw,"

Soon enough, everyone began running away, all heading towards the door at the same time as Erina watched them go with her hands on her hips, a small smirk on her face.

Meanwhile, Souma's golden eyes were wide in shock and disbelief at all the transfer-students _(who were mostly male)_ running past her.

' _Eh?!_ '

Souma's hand reached out to grab someone's shoulder, which conveniently was the sandy-blond who insulted her restaurant earlier. "Oi, wait!"

The sandy-blond glanced at her, eyes wide and wavering with fear and the thought of running seemed even more pleasant than he thought, even if the red-head was in front of him.

"Why are you all running?!" she asked, hoping to at least get some answers because she was currently, and terribly, confused.

The boy looked shock, eyes widening even more. "Y-you don't know who she is?!"

Souma only blinked cluelessly and innocently, a confused smile on her face. "Huh? Nope. Tell me."

"Nakiri Erina had the finest palate known to mankind! A divine tongue!" he explained in a rush, "The God Tongue!"

"Eh?" Souma was even more confused.

"Human babies typically begin talking between the ages of one and two. But her first spoken words, at three months old, were..."

 _"Not enough depth of flavor."_

"Given the small glimpse of her genius already present at birth, she has been asked to serve as the taste-tester of famous restaurants nation-wide since a very young age." he explained.

"All the heavyweights in the food world are her clients! Her evaluations spread far and wide in the industry!" he screamed, trying to run away and get out from the red-head's grip on the back of his shirt, and didn't have time to care that the red-headed teen had an incredibly strong grip. "Should she—should she brand you as an imbecile without any talent, your career in the food world would be over!" Finally, Souma allowed him to get away from her grasp and just watched him trip over himself, getting back up, before running out of the room.

"I figured most of them were hopeless incompetents." Erina said in dislike, her eyes closed and arms crossed. "I can't be bothered to waste my time on such fools." she lifted her head up and looked at the pink-haired girl, "I believe I've cleared my schedule for the day?"

"Er, hai."

Erina moved her gaze to the side, "I will now test my new dishes in my private quarters,"

The pink-haired teen gasped lightly at the news, a small blush forming on her cheeks as she stared at the heiress with an awed look. ' _Erina-sama's new dish..._ ' she thought, and Erina noticed her look, causing her to face the pink-haired teen.

"What's the matter, Hisako?" she started approaching the female-teen named ' _Hisako_ ', a small smirk on her face. "You look like...you want something." she informed, bringing a hand to the pinkette's chin and lifted it up eye-level to hers.

"O-oh, iie, well..." she hesitated, her blush coming full-force as she gazed at the beautiful heiress.

"Would you like the privilege of trying my cooking?" Erina asked gently, her voice soothing and low as Hisako blushed.

"I... I would!"

Erina smiled, "Maa, what a shameless hussy you are." she giggled softly, amusement in her eyes as her thumb touched Hisako's bottom lip gently. It almost seemed like roses and sparkles were around the two girls, such romantic scenery.

"Oh, please forgive me!"

"We'll have to report first that no one passed." Erina suggested; eyes soft and caring as Hisako stared back into the heiress' lovely purple eyes with a hint of pink, her own pinkish-red eyes filled with slight tears and a dazed blush on her cheeks.

"H-hai..."

"Ne, so are there no other restrictions on the dish?" Souma suddenly spoke up, interrupting the girls' moments and ruined it at the same time, with her hands in her pockets.

Erina and Hisako's eyes widened in shock before parting, staring at the red-headed teen who dared to interrupt their moment with narrowed eyes.

' _What?_ ' Erina stared at Souma's glowing golden eyes, her lips forming a small frown. ' _I...have a challenger?_ '

* * *

Moments later, the three girls were now in a kitchen with all the ingredients and materials people could find. Erina stood in front of the red-headed beauty, with Hisako a step behind her.

"As long as you use eggs, you can make anything you want." Erina reminded, before sliding her eyes close. "But are you sure you want to do this?" she asked again, "You should withdraw while you..."

"Ah, I was really worried!" Souma cluelessly interrupted the heiress, not hearing the next words at all, placing a delicately small and pale hand on Erina's shoulders with her other hand on her busty chest. "I thought you might fail me before I even got to cook!" she continued like the dense-headed girl she was. Erina glanced at the small hand on her shoulder, annoyance clear in her eyes but was somewhat confused at the odd tingle that went through her body at the touch.

"Back away!" Hisako yelled, standing in front of Erina and created a space between the two, her hand outstretched. "Do you know who she is?!"

Souma's startled stance relaxed slightly, a curious looked in her big, golden eyes that Hisako unwittingly got lost in them. They were so yellow and so gold and tantalizing _and_ —"Who is she?" Souma asked, getting Hisako's attention back to earth.

With her hand still outstretched, she elaborated, "She is the top of her class in the junior high division, and the youngest member of the Totsuki Elite Ten Council," Hisako moved her hand to gesture to the heiress who had her arms crossed, "the highest decision-making body in the academy, in the academy's history: Nakiri Erina-sama!"

"Whoa," Souma stared in awe, a pique of interest in her golden eyes, "This is a fine tool." she complimented the big, smoothly sharp knife she found from the drawers she was rummaging through, lifting it above her for the light to reflect from it and caressed the edge carefully with a finger.

"Don't wander around!" Hisako and Erina scolded the clueless red-head in chibi-form, finding it offensive to stupidly ignore an important information, with the latter having a drop of sweat hanging on her head.

"Huh?" Souma glanced at them in the corner of her eye, bemused.

"Let me ask one last time: Are you really going to take my exam?" Erina asked again, folding her arms over her chest as Hisako glared at the red-head.

"Eh?" Souma made a confused sound, sliding her left hand in her pocket as she threw the sharp knife up in the air, spinning around with Hisako gaping slightly and Erina watching apathetically, "I just have to make you say it tastes good, right?" before effortlessly catching it on the handle without looking or flinching, bringing it up to her smiling face. "Of course I'll take the test."

Erina stared at the red-head in astonishment, her eyes widening microscopically, before narrowing. ' _This girl..._ '

"Erina-sama," Hisako called, handing the heiress a piece of paper and showing it to her. Erina scanned the information within it. About the red-head.

"Yukihira Souma. Her family runs a diner." she reads out loud but lowly, glancing up at the red-head, who was examining the egg on the table, and spoke in a tone only she and Hisako could hear. "She's obviously a second-rate cook. She doesn't understand my noble pedigree," and image of a stray dog with a scar on its left brow licking a valuable pink diamond appeared on their heads, "just like a stray dog would have no idea of a gemstone's value."

A small smile, which almost looked like a smirk, appeared on her face as she glided her eyes closed. "If that's your attitude, I'll taste your food," Erina raised her head up, eyeing the red-head, "the food of the bottom feeders in the food world."

Souma stopped her observation, her head tilting to the two slightly as her bangs covered her eyes, her signature smile on her face. "I'll be happy to..." her hand reached for the tie of her headband, "...serve you..." pulling it away from her wrist, "...our specialty!" and flung her school jacket into the air.

"Hang on to your seats," Souma started, pulling on her headband that was tied around her forehead and connected to her hair, tied also into a high-ponytail, "Examiner Nakiri!"

The fire was started, rising up in flames as Souma began cutting chives in a fast pace, a confident grin on her face.

Behind her, the two other females were observing every movement the red-head made. "Eggs are a fundamental ingredient in Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine, across all the culinary genres." Hisako commented out, and took a glance at the heiress beside her. Erina still had her arms crossed, her expression blank that not even Hisako could decipher what she was currently thinking about. ' _What will she serve to Erina-sama, who tastes haute egg cuisine on a daily basis?_ ' she thought, moving her gaze to the red-heads back.

What could the red-head make for the Nakiri heiress? The main ingredient was the egg, but could it compete against the other delicious eggs Erina had tried? Creating something to satisfy Erina's extraordinary palate was never an easy feat; so Hisako will not admit to anyone she was a bit curious for the outcome.

Souma grabbed a piece of cloth and opened the pot, watching the liquid inside, and made her way to taste it, her eyes closed in contemplation. After a moment of thought, her eyes opened and grabbed an egg, cracking it open and let the yolk fall into the steel bowl with other three eggs before stirring them with chopsticks.

Erina continued to observe, a hint of a frown on her face. ' _It seems she'll use beaten eggs,_ ' she moved her purple orbs to the pots being used on the stove, not a single dish that she could remember with those tools pop in her head, ' _but I have no idea what dish she's working towards._ '

As Souma continued stirring the egg until it was mixed with only the yellow yolk, Erina approached the red-head, her curiosity getting the best of her. "Yukihira Souma-san, what are you making?"

"Eh?" said red-head glanced at the heiress, before an amused and funny look appeared on her face. "You still can't tell at this stage?" Souma looked to be keeping her laughter in place.

"Do you want me to fail you right now?!" Erina countered, both flustered and aggravated at the glee rolling off of the golden-eyed female in waves.

"Listen! I don't have the time to waste on ill-conceived food." she started, narrowing her eyes, "I'm asking you if you have any intention of making a dish that is suitable for my palate!"

The red-head stared at the heiress; not noticing how her stare was making Erina a little shifty, then sent a closed eye-smile. "Alright, I'll tell you." she relented.

"What I'm making is the eighth item on Yukihira Diner's secret menu!"

"Secret menu?" Erina repeated in slight disbelief and doubt, wondering who would actually put a dish like _that_ in a restaurant _(somewhere, a certain brown-haired man sneezed)_. Unknowingly like Hisako, Erina was interested, not that she'll ever admit it to anyone. "And what manner of a complicated dish would this be?"

Souma resumed her stirring on the egg yolks before looking at the honey-blond, a grin on her face. "Rice with seasoning!"

Erina surely wasn't expecting that simple answer, her eyes shrinking with pure disbelief. Behind her, Hisako had a shadow on her eyes, deadpanning at the red-head. Both females had an image of a bowl filled with rice and a packet of seasoning being sprinkled upon.

' _Wha...?!_ '

The whole room around them was so silent that a pin dropping could be heard at any time.

A loud slam was heard in front of the red-head on the table, the cause by Erina as she slammed her fist down, annoyance and slight anger eyes. "Cut the crap! I knew you were a bottom-feeding cook. What a waste of time." she began walking away, missing the shadowed-look that passed on Souma's eyes.

"Erina-sama..."

"Of course, they're no ordinary seasoning." Souma spoke up again before Erina could exit the room and caught her attention as she faced back at the red-head, surprise visible on her features.

"What I'm making..." Souma pointed the chopsticks at the heiress, a confident look on her face. "...is rice with transforming seasoning!"

Erina blinked in surprise and confusion, "Transforming seasoning...?"

Unbeknownst to the three females, someone was standing beside the door outside with folded arms, eavesdropping at their conversation.

"Saa, almost done!" Souma announced, doing something on the cutting board that couldn't be seen by the two females.

' _Yukihira Souma... What dish is she about to serve?_ ' Erina wondered, suddenly feeling tense at the red-head as a nervous droplet of sweat dropped on her face. Why was she feeling like this? Was she somehow expecting a dish that passes her expectations? No, not likely, so then why...?

"Thank you for waiting!"

Placed on the table was a square bowl filled with normal-looking eggs that looked nothing like Erina expected as a dubious expression crossed her face, blue lines appearing and eyebrow twitching. ' _Iie..._ ' she closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves that were presently going haywire inside, ' _Like I initially thought, she's just messing with me!_ ' she supposed as Souma untied the headband off her forehead and hair, allowing her messy red locks to fall on her shoulders.

A shadow covered Erina's eyes from view as she sighed, while Hisako leaned down and examined the container. She blinked her light-red eyes, ' _It really is ordinary._ ' the egg just looked dry and plain and simple and dry.

Erina raised her head at the red-head, a blank look on her face. "In the end, it's still the work of a second-rate cook." she said, "It fails to arouse my appetite."

Images of luxurious and polished dishes appeared in their heads. "My palate has been called the God Tongue. Only the most elaborate and refined haute cuisine graces my dinner table." an image of Erina sitting on heavenly clouds and being served my angels holding amazing dishes appeared. ' _Indeed, I reside in a gourmet paradise! How dare she serve something like this to me?_ ' she stared at the plain-looking eggs before facing away.

"This exam is over." she turned, walking away to the door.

"Erina-sama!"

Souma watched the two stride away and placed her hands on her hips, eyes closed as she opened her mouth, "But you haven't seen its true form yet." was the only thing she said that caused the two to stop. Hisako looked back, skeptical, and Erina stared at the red-head with a hand on her hip.

"What do you mean?" she questioned. Souma only held the container, tilting it slightly forward as Erina scrutinize the ' _dish_ ' more carefully, before gasping slightly when something shiny and smooth could be seen from under the eggs.

' _There's something hiding behind the eggs..._ ' Erina blinked once, shock and incomprehension glinting on her purple eyes. How could she have missed something so small when examining the eggs?

"Well, keep your eyes peeled." Souma said as Erina approached the red-head. "The true value of a rice seasoning-" she placed a small bowl of hot rice in front of the heiress, "-is only apparent once it's served on white rice." she explained, moving her gaze for golden-yellow to meet purple-pink.

"Well then," Souma started, and Erina gasped lightly when the red-headed female tilted the eggs down, letting it fall to the rice as shiny, clear and smooth cubes shimmered in the light. "Now for the finish!" a beautiful smile appearing on her face that both Erina and Hisako noted first before snapping out of it, now looking at the dish that graced the surface of the table.

The eggs and cubes were bouncing on the rice, glossing like gold under the light of the room. Erina's eyes widened when noticing something on the dish, ' _It's melting...from the rice's heat?_ ' she watched the cubes melting, absorbed into the rice in such an elegant way. ' _And as it melts, it's coating the egg._ ' she then smelled the scent of the dish, her body warming up for some reason.

' _What is this aroma? Chicken?_ ' her arm around her waist tightened at the amazing smell. ' _The fragrant...the mellow aroma of the chicken that's been simmered slowly over time...That's what's wafting through the air._ '

' _So this is the rice with transforming seasoning? It looks completely different from before._ ' Erina gulped, her body suddenly craving for it. ' _I wonder what it tastes like..._ '

Seeing that Souma was still staring keenly at her, Erina moved her gaze to the dish, avoiding the red-heads alluring golden eyes. "I suppose I can afford to taste one bite." she reluctantly submitted.

Souma grinned as Erina fully turned her attention to the red-head, flipping her honey-blonde locks behind her. "Hand over the dish!" she ordered with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Sprinkling some chives, Souma served the dish with chopsticks ready for the heiress, "Oagariyo!" she grinned, her headband tied back to her wrist.

A heartbeat later, Erina had the piece of rice between the chopsticks, scrutinizing it before bringing it to her mouth. When it was finally in her mouth, she closed her eyes in thought, letting the flavors melt into her tongue. She moaned slightly, before snapping out of her daze, appearing flustered. ' _I can't believe this..._ ' she thought in chibi-mode, realization crashing down on her. ' _I forgot to judge, and just savored the taste?!_ '

Erina stared at the rice, incredulous. ' _What was that texture?!_ ' she thought, bringing her chopsticks down to get another bite to confirm the tastes and texture.

"Ara?" Souma's voice resounded and Erina halted, raising her head to face the red-head. Souma had her arms folded under chest, a dark and amused expression surfacing on her face with an unreadable glint on her eyes. "You're going for a second bite? I thought I heard you say one bite only."

Erina stared at the red-head, her face flushing up in embarrassment at the truth of those words. She started slapping the table repeatedly in chibi-mode, "Do you have any complaints about that?!" she retorted, very flustered.

"I'm just kidding." Souma responded, inwardly finding it amusing at how easy it was to rile her up _(though she did it unintentionally)_ , while Hisako sighed silently at her mistress. "Take your time and eat up."

Erina took another piece of rice on her chopsticks, staring at the rice with a serious look and closed her mouth on it, eyes closed as well, chewing on the food, before purple orbs were shown again. "It's aspic, isn't it." she stated, not sounding like a question at all.

"Bingo!" Souma approved, a bright grin on her face. "The squares are aspic made from chicken wingtips." she said. "Aspic is formed when meat or fish broth with high gelatin content congeals into jelly. I simmered chicken wingtips with bonito stock, sake, and light soy sauce, and then finely chopped the aspic once it cooled and solidified." she lifted a finger out, "When that's sprinkled over hot rice, the aspic melts and the gelatinous broth coats the egg soboro."

' _In effect, this aspic is a rich soup infused with the umami of the chicken._ ' Erina concluded, narrowing her eyes in thought. ' _The rich flavor and saltiness of this broth are enhancing the fluffy egg soboro's subtle sweetness. With every bite, the fluffy and gelatinous textures caress the insides of your mouth._ ' to Erina, it felt like she was swimming in the delicious broth. ' _The melted aspic is elevating the egg to entirely new heights..._ ' she gazed at the dish, amazed and shocked. ' _This is unlike any dish I've ever eaten. It's an entirely new world of flavor._ '

"So, how is it?" Erina jumped slightly in surprise as Souma leaned forward with her arms folded. "Glad you didn't go away without tasting it first, right?" she teased.

"S-Silence!" Erina slammed her hands on the table, leaning forward and towering over the red-headed beauty. "The evaluation has yet to conclude!" she countered, but Souma leaned forward more, causing the heiress to lean back in surprise at the closeness, her blush turning a little darker and her bust shifting, and stared at the clueless red-head.

"Even when the menu item is basic in the extreme, we use our creativity to transform it into a masterpiece!" Souma leaned back, hand on her hips. "That is the Yukihira cooking!"

Erina's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly and forced it to remain still, ' _Even so...how can I, a denizen of gourmet paradise, accept this?_ ' her purple orbs peered up to the red-head. ' _This, a dish by a girl who's like the personification of all things common!_ ' she thought, even if the back of her mind told her how Souma's red hair gracefully falls on her shoulder, no matter how messy it was, seemed to glow and match her pale skin with hands that were small and delicate-looking. Not one thought actually said that Souma was a commoner-looking female, because she had extraordinary beauty like no other.

' _I can't...accept this,_ ' her hand unwillingly went for another bite, ' _I just...can't..._ ' Hisako watched the heiress with worry as Erina brought the chopsticks to her mouth, opening for the rice.

Once she closed in once more, she leaned her head back slightly, moaning as a blush rushed to her cheeks. ' _This flavor... It's as if..._ ' her whole scenery changed around her as the flavors took over her mind and body. ' _...I'm being caressed by angel feathers!_ '

Many little Souma's with adorable white robes and angel wings flew towards Erina. Erina could only watch in slight fear as the angels began pulling on her robes, a tingling feeling in place. ' _Go away!_ ' she begged, trying to keep the robes on her chest from getting pulled.

' _Stay away!_ ' her pleadings were being ignored as the angel Souma's started tickling and caressing her visible chest, her thigh was way too close to her behind, and the front of her thighs with light feathers. Erina used her other hand to reach down on her robes to pull it even lower, trying, and failing, to ignore the fuzzy and warm feeling on her body. ' _Iie!_ ' the cute little angel Souma's continued trailing her skin and body with their feathers, a furious red blush on her face.

' _I don't want to accept it...but my palate... My body...can't help but react..._ '

Erina leaned on the table to prevent herself from falling on the ground, her knees abruptly feeling weak. Her eyes were closed, and everything felt too warm as she panted, trying to regain her breath.

"Sure, we're a small diner, and I'm sure you're one of the elites of the food world." Souma spoke, turning her head to the side with eyes closed. "But, you know, I bet there are some things you can't make if you get too comfortable sneering down at people from your throne." she opened her golden eyes, a small, soft smile on her face as Erina stared at the red-head blushing even more, still leaning on the table.

Erina gritted her teeth, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes as she glanced down from the red-head.

"Erina-sama..." Hisako muttered, worried for the heiress in front of her.

"Well? What is it?" Souma asked as sweat dripped from Erina's face. "Yukihira-style rice with seasoning... Is it delicious, or disgusting?" she pointed at the honey-blond heiress, an eager look on her face. "Tell me!"

Souma waited for her response while Hisako stared, both waiting in anticipation as Erina remained silent.

"It's d..." Erina began, hesitating as a shadow covered her eyes.

"Huh?" Souma blinked, not understanding what the heiress was trying to say, before everything came crashing down.

"Disgusting!" Erina shouted in the bottom of her heart with her eyes closed, tears on the corner of her eyes and a flustered blush on her face.

Souma paled drastically to the color of paper, her eyes wide as saucers, " _NANIII_?!"

* * *

"How dare she?! How dare she?! How dare she?!" Erina grumbled, walking down on the hall at a fast pace. "Talking down to me like that! To _me_ , Nakiri Erina!" many, many tick marks were around her in sign of her irritation and anger towards the red-headed teen prior.

"Unforgivable!" she punched a wall with all her might, staying still for a moment, before crouching down on the ground when the pain finally came through her fist.

She sat on the ground, folding her arms on top of her knees as her face flushed red with slight tears in her eyes. ' _Yukihira Souma..._ ' her purple eyes were glaring at the space in front of her, ' _Totsuki Academy has no need for people like you!_ '

* * *

"Hello? It's Erina." A phone was held up to her ear, her hand leaning on the desk beside her. "Please tell ojii-sama, the director of the academy," her mind flashed an image of a certain beautiful red-head with a cute and innocent smile on her heart-shaped face, "that no one passed the transfer exam today."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Souma was sitting on a small grass hill, an unmoved look on her face at her unexpected defeat, sulking. She couldn't believe she lost, and was her dish really disgusting? Or was Erina just in denial? Who knows, because Souma couldn't exactly think straight right now... "Eeeeeeeeeeeeh..."

* * *

 **End of Ep. 2 and Ch. 2!**

 **If there are any mistakes, don't mind to point it out! :3**

 _ **Osomatsu!**_


	3. Plate Three

**Hey again! Sorry I missed one chapter, the past couple of days have been very busy. But I'm back and ready to write** _(type)_

 **First though...**

 **The drafts quite _literally_ follows the anime, and I'm sorry for that **_(because it must be boring to re-read something you've already heard and read)_ **. But I'll definitely edit _everything_ once I'm finished. I can promise you that! **

**Also, thanks to * TheBearWhoPreviouslyTrolled **_(like your name, by the way)_ **and * Ryuketsu666 and all the others' reviews! Very much appreciated and love reading your opinions so I could do better in the future!**

 **Enjoy! :D**

* * *

It was a snowy day outside in the train station, appearing peaceful at the snow falling down from the sky. A train was approaching slowed down to a stop, for the people to enter through or walk out.

A young, female teen with dark-blue hair in braided-pigtails and a flower hairpin clipping her bangs away, yellow-colored eyes, and a petite figure took a step forward, a smile on her face. "My train's here." she uttered to herself. She faced her family behind her, "Alright, I'm gonna get going."

"Megumi, you're really going, huh?" an elderly man said, mostly to himself. "And you've only just turned thirteen!" he started sobbing, bringing a hand to wipe the tears forming in his eyes.

The girl, ' _Megumi_ ' smiled reassuringly at him. "'Jii-chan, don't worry."

A young girl behind Megumi's grandfather brought her fisted-hands to her chest, a big smile on her face. "Yeah, Megumi's cooking's the best deal around here!"

"It's good enough for Tokyo, too!"

"Here, a good luck charm to help you stay focused and study." A middle-aged woman approached the blue-haired girl, handing a red charm up for her to take. Megumi slowly took it, her throat clogging up. "H-hai..."

"Megumi,"

"Megumi can be so shy."

Everyone cheering for the blue-haired teen was smiling, sending her their farewells.

Megumi was inside the train, alone as she leaned back near the window, watching the trees of the forests pass by with the snow coating them. ' _Arigatou, min'na._ ' she thought, moving her gaze to the charm the woman gave to her in her hands as tears filled her eyes. ' _I'm gonna come back as a real chef for sure!_ ' she thought determinedly, reading the charm that said ' _Charm for Academic Success_ '.

Until she reads a paper in her hands that said,

" _Final Notice_

 _3rd-Year, Junior High School Division_

 _Tadokoro Megumi_

 _Should the student named above_

 _receive an E or a non-passing grade in class,_

 _in accordance with school policy,_

 _the student shall be EXPELLED._ "

" _Hiiiiiiiiiii_!" Megumi stared in despair and horror at the words in the end, tears on her eyes.

* * *

Megumi stared at the sign of Totsuki Academy, nervousness filling her entire being and mind. Tadokoro Megumi, age 15, was the dark-blue haired girl's name.

' _My name is Tadokoro Megumi... It's the spring of my first year in high school,_ " she paused on her thoughts, before her whole scenery changed with her standing on a cliff that was carved for her to only stand on, ' _and I'm on a knife's edge._ '

* * *

All the students, who were starting their first year in junior high school, were all lined up in front of a stage for the entrance ceremony.

" _We will next present the new students with their class badge._ " A female's voice resonated around the place, " _Incoming valedictorian, Nakiri Erina._ "

"Hai!" Nakiri Erina, age fifteen, of the High School Division and First-Year, responded back, walking to the front as the wind swayed her honey-blond locks away.

"Ah, Erina-sama..."

"Exquisite as always,"

"Beautiful and at the top of her class..." the students chattered away amongst themselves, the males staring in adoration at the heiress-beauty whilst the females glared in jealousy at the honey-blond for attracting the male populations' attentions already.

"She is perfection incarnate!"

The students continued to compliment the heiress as a badge was placed above her left chest, a polite smile on her face to the green-haired female in front of her.

"If I could go on a date with her for even a single day, I'd die happy,"

"Baka! Watch your mouth! You'll get kicked out of the academy!"

"Yeah, she's the granddaughter of the don who leads the food industry mafia!"

"Well, sure, but..."

Behind the boys who were talking about the heiress, a blonde-haired boy with cerulean-blue eyes stared at them, an unreadable look on his face at what he had heard.

" _We now welcome our keynote speaker: the director of our Totsuki Academy,_ " everyone gasped and gulped, intimidated by the words they were hearing and intimidated by the ' _old_ ' man on the stage, " _Nakiri Senzaemon-sama._ "

Nakiri Senzaemon, Totsuki Academy's director. He had gray-hair swept to his back, a long scar on his right eye, and a scruffy beard on both his chin and above his mouth. He also was wearing a traditional kimono.

Senzaemon had his eyes closed at the introduction before opening them, showing red intense orbs, and, immediately everyone was frightened by just the sight of him opening his eyes as he stared at everyone.

"H-he's terrifying!"

"He has the entire Academy...no, the entire Japanese food world...under his thumb! He's the ultimate gourmand!"

"Calling him a mafia don is an understatement!"

"He's the Devil!"

"The Devil of food!"

"Greetings," Senzaemon started with his deep and powerful voice, a serious look still remaining on his face that shouldn't be there for an old guy _(was what most of the students were thinking)_. "Congratulations on your advancement to the high school division."

Everyone stared wide-eyed or gawking at the old man.

"During your three years in the junior high school division, you have obtained a basic skill set in cooking and deepened your understanding of each ingredient." Senzaemon began informing them, "In addition to the cooking practicum, you attend classroom lectures on a variety of topics including culinary theory, nutrition, public health, introductory agronomics, and management." his voice boomed throughout the explanation to the students.

"Now, you're finally standing at the entrance to the high school division. The challenges you'll now face are not about your skills or knowledge, but whether you have the wherewithal to survive as a food professional."

"Ninety-nine percent of you..." Senzaemon pointed at the crowd, at everyone, "...are meant to be sacrifices for honing the remaining one-percent!"

Everyone gasped, some panicking, some alarmed, some blank-faced, and others expressing their own way of how they took in the information.

And some in amusement, "He's got quite the speech, nii-chan." A chubby, brown-haired boy said to his brother, who had blonde-hair and blue eyes. "He called them sacrifices!"

"Ah, you're right."

Megumi stared ahead, scared, as she brought up her trembling fists near her chest.

"Of the eight-hundred and twelve students who entered our high school division last year, only seventy-six advanced to the second year!" Senzaemon continued, "Incompetence and mediocrity will be mercilessly excised from our student body. A thousand first-years will be whittled down to a hundred by next year, and we can count those who'll advance to graduation on one hand."

"Aspire to become one of the small handfuls of those professionals!" he pointed a finger at them all once again, "It should be you!"

Soon enough, all the frightened and unsure students grinned back determinedly, all confident as the words rung on their heads.

"Hone yourself!" the director allowed his words to sink into their minds, before saying his final words, "That is all." and walked away from the mic.

Meanwhile, Erina was sitting behind the stage with eyes closed, a leg over her thigh and arms folded under her chest. ' _This academy only has such strong name recognition because of the intense competition allowing only a select few to complete their education._ ' she thought, opening her purple-pink eyes open. ' _Should one succeed in advancing to actual graduation, their stardom in the food world is assured for their remaining lifetime._ ' her gaze shifted to the ground. ' _But I pity those of you who're in the same generation as me._ '

' _You have been destined to fight over who gets to be second place since the time you were born. The pinnacle of Totsuki Academy, and of the Japanese food world,_ ' her eyes opened, a small smirk on her face, ' _belongs to me, Nakiri Erina!_ '

" _Finally, we'd like to introduce one transfer who'll be joining your ranks today._ "

Erina looked up, a flash of confusion in her eyes before gazing down, ' _So one student made the cut in a different exam?_ ' she mused, almost feeling impressed and wondered who the student would be.

Almost.

So _no_ , not really, she doesn't particularly care whatsoever.

But then she frowned as an image of the red-head's back, who challenged her the day before with stunning, fiery red hair, curvy body wearing a male's uniform, appeared in Erina's head. ' _Yukihira... Souma..._ ' the feeling she had felt when eating the egg dish of her body being caressed by feathers popped into her head. She closed her eyes, ' _Hmph! Just the mere memory of it makes my blood boil._ ' And just seeing the red-head's infuriating innocent smile was a different case.

' _I'll never have to see her again._ ' Erina was so busy drowned in her thoughts that she didn't pay attention to what was happening outside as a certain red-head who invaded her head was now standing in front of everyone.

"Oh, I'm sorry to be talking to you all up here."

" _Just be quick about it, please._ "

Erina's mind was finally back to earth when she heard a female's voice whispering to someone, her eyes opening and glanced to the side, her ears open and listening.

"I'll keep it short and sweet, then." An oddly familiar female voice said, and Erina somehow couldn't help the nagging feeling on the back of her head that she recognized the voice.

"Just a couple sentences,"

And then the pieces clicked.

" _HAAAAAA_?!" Erina screamed in shock and horror, her face drained of color with a blue hue instead when finally realizing whose voice that belonged to.

Souma was standing in front of the mic; small hands clasped together behind her back and wearing the same dark male uniform with her Yukihira cooking uniform. "Ano, I'm Yukihira Souma." she started, her messy and spiky red hair tied in a low-ponytail. "To be honest, this academy's just a stepping stone for me!" everyone stared in appall and completely gaped as the red-head continued, "I wasn't expecting to transfer here, but I don't plan on losing to folks who've never actually served customers."

Souma paused, tilting her head slightly in a cluelessly innocent fashion that caused some of the students to blush and stare before resuming, "Anyway, what I'm getting at is... Basically, now that I'm here," she lifted a delicately pale finger up, a neutral and oblivious look on her face, "I'm gonna take the number one spot!" she declared nonchalantly.

A certain blond-haired, blue-eyed male snapped his eyes open, shocked at the words the red-head had spoken. He wasn't alone, though, as everyone else stared in disbelief, surprise, shock, and incredulous.

Souma stepped out of the front and to the side, a smile on her face that was so beautiful that everyone almost forgot about the words she had said prior. Almost. "I'm looking forward to being with you all for the next three years!" she bowed her head respectfully and politely, and also nonchalantly.

When the words finally settled into everyone's heads, they were absolutely livid and offended by the red-head, though mostly the female population since most of the boys seemed to be in a daze as they stared at the golden-eyed female.

"You little—!"

"Hey!"

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Die!"

"Wait a minute!"

The girls threw objects at the red-head, who seemed to be oblivious and none of the items were even hitting her, as Souma walked into where Erina would be, her eyes closed and a hand on her chest as she sighed. "Phew, I managed to not bite my tongue..." she uttered to herself, and raised her head before a surprised look took over her features.

"Ara... Oh! You're the one from the exam!" Souma said in surprise, "Ano... Nakiri, right?" she tried to remember the blonde's name.

Erina only stared wide-eyed at the red-head, disbelief on her eyes as Souma walked closer. "Man, that was nerve-wracking." Souma had her finger scratching her cheek in an innocent fashion. "It's not like I've ever had to stand up there to get awards of stuff like that." she leaned forward to the heiress, a smile on her face, and didn't notice the annoyed look on Erina, "Ne, how was I? Was I weird?"

Erina finally had enough, "Who cares about that?!" she exclaimed, a tick mark on her head, "Yukihira-chan! Why are you here?!" she demanded, not caring that she sounded unkind, or noticed the change of honorific she used for the red-head.

Souma only blinked cluelessly _(and didn't notice the change)_ , her hand reaching into her _(male)_ uniform. "Huh? Why?" she showed a letter to the heiress that reads ' _Letter of Acceptance_ '. "Wouldn't you come if you got an acceptance letter?" she inquired.

Erina gasped in shock, staring at the letter before looking at the red-head, "How?!"

Souma kept the letter back into her uniform, a relieved look on her face. "Man, you had me scared right there. You said it was disgusting. If it was good, you should've just said so."

"That's not it!" Erina protested with wide eyes and mouth slightly open, her mind going haywire. ' _That's not it! That's not it! I rejected her!_ '

 _"Is it delicious, or disgusting?" Souma pointed at the honey-blond heiress, an eager look on her face. "Tell me!"_

 _"Disgusting!" Erina shouted in the bottom of her heart with her eyes closed, tears on the corner of her eyes and a flustered blush on her face._

 _Souma paled drastically to the color of paper, "NANIII?!"_

Erina clenched her teeth, a shadow covering her eyes as she trembled before, finally, flipping her hair away with the wind, a serious look on her face. "I'll say one thing!" she started, "I haven't accepted you! Neither you, nor your cooking!"

Souma stared in confusion, still clueless, and that seemed to piss Erina off even more _(for some odd reason)_.

"This is a mistake! A mistake, okay?!" Erina placed her hands on her hips, "You came here to Totsuki because there was a mistake!" she then gestured a hand to herself, a confident look on her face. "Taking the number one spot? Don't make me laugh. Everyone's who's been a student since junior high has been learning cutting-edge gastronomy!" Souma stayed silent as Erina continued to rant.

"I can already tell that an outsider transfer student like you wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of beating them!" she walked pass the red-read, missing the unreadable flash in her golden eyes.

"Three years in junior high, huh..."

Erina stopped briefly, glancing at the red-head over her shoulder. "So?"

There was a pause, before Souma spoke up again, "I first held a kitchen knife at the age of three." she started as the sakura blossoms began swaying from the wind gently, "I've been practically living in the kitchen ever since for the past twelve years." the wind shifted, blowing Souma's jacket to show her restaurant uniform underneath, a small smile on her face while Erina stared in surprise at the information.

"I can't let you smear mud on our restaurant," Souma turned to the honey-blond, a confident expression on her face, "by leaving after you said my cooking's disgusting." she raised a fist, her smile growing wider. "Just you wait! I'll make you say ' _delicious_ '!" an excited glint passed her golden eyes, "I'll use everything I've got in my cooking arsenal!"

Erina felt an unknown emotion bubbling in her stomach from the third sentence and set her lips in a firm line, the wind blowing around the two of them as she stared at the red-head's flowing, spiky red hair, and Souma's golden eyes nearly glowing in an ethereal way.

Outside the females, Nakiri Senzaemon had his arms folded and eyes closed, standing behind the tent, before opening his red eyes, a lopsided smirk on his face with a small chuckle.

* * *

After the ceremony, all the students were heading back into the academy. A female student with teal-colored eyes and amber-colored hair tied neatly into two buns on the sides of her hair closed her eyes, an amused smile on her cute face. "Well, that was some transfer student." she said with an amazed tone, opening her eyes.

Her friend with long purple hair _(that looked close to pink)_ with split bangs that reached her busty chest and blood-orange eyes smiled, "But maybe you need that much attitude if you're going to survive in this academy."

"You might be right! Let's give it our best shot!" the amber-haired female looked over her left shoulder with a closed eye-smile, "Ne, Megumi?" When no response was heard, the two females turned behind them in confusion, staring at the space behind them with the violet-haired female sweat dropping.

"Where's Megumi?"

"Ara?"

* * *

Meanwhile with Megumi, she held her fists together above her chest, a little lost and blue. ' _I want out..._ ' small tears were forming in her eyes, ' _I'm definitely up for first place in the sacrifice category._ '

Megumi was sitting alone in the place where the entrance ceremony had taken place, isolated and quiet. ' _I got the lowest passing score on the high school entrance exam, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time until the final..._ ' she trailed off, before clenching her shaking fists, ' _No, don't give up!_ ' Megumi told herself, her family and friends coming into mind. ' _I have to live up to everyone's expectations back home!_ '

Her yellow eyes was now filled with determination, ' _Anyway, I'm only just scraping by right now as it is. I should keep my head down and avoid any attention unlike that transfer student!_ '

Megumi stood up, finally finding her resolve. ' _Yosh! I'm not going anywhere near that girl!_ '

"You'll be splitting off into different classes and starting your coursework right off the bat." the teacher said, and, currently, most of the students were pissed off and glaring at a certain someone.

"Today, you'll be cooking in pairs with your current partner. Got it?"

And the certain someone was the red-headed, and clueless, beauty, Yukihira Souma, who was whistling a quiet tune to herself and was oblivious to the others, glaring and blushing at her. Megumi was also staring in terror and dread at the red-head, who she finally got a closer look of the transfer student.

Souma noticed the stare from the dark-haired girl and faced her, lifting a hand in greeting. "Ah, nice to meet you,"

Megumi flinched, her hands going to her cheeks as her face turned blue in horror and how she literally jinxed herself. ' _Whyyyyy?!_ '

* * *

Some students were still whispering to one another as they stared at the oblivious red-head, while Souma was throwing an onion up and down. "Wow, the last time I cooked in class was for home economics!" she said to herself, a smile on her pale face.

The two students behind her were talking to each other, gazing at the red-head. But they weren't alone as the other students were chattering as well.

"Hey, look."

"Yeah,"

"It's the transfer student who was running her mouth off at the opening ceremony."

"She's all talk, anyway."

"But now that we look at her closely, she's a real beauty, isn't she?"

"You're right about that. Besides, look at that body!"

"I think we found ourselves an eye-candy, eh?"

"So..." Souma started, catching the onion in her hand and side-glanced at the petite girl beside her. "Tadokoro-san, was it?" she questioned, turning her head to the female who was crouching on the ground writing the kanji for ' _man_ ' on her hand repeatedly and ' _eating_ ' it. "Why're you writing the ' _man_ ' character on your hand over and over?"

Megumi snapped out of it and raised her head to look at the confused red-head, flustered. "Oh! Th-this is...so that I won't get nervous," she answered hesitantly, her face suddenly feeling hot at the stare the red-head was giving her. She didn't really know why though.

Souma blinked, not following whatsoever. "Nervous?" she repeated, "Why?"

Megumi stared at the red-head a little longer before looking down at the ground sadly, "If I get even one more E rating, I'll get expelled..." she told her, feeling down and worried for her future in cooking.

"Eh? I'd heard this is an elite school," Souma stared blankly and somewhat surprised at the dark-haired girl, "but I guess even they have people like you." she commented bluntly, her hands in her pockets behind her waist-apron.

The words seemed to stab Megumi in the heart, not having a great feeling now. ' _And here I wanted to survive by keeping a low profile..._ ' she began to sulk, her eyes gloomy. ' _Now I'm paired with this girl, of all people..._ '

Souma, clueless as ever, didn't notice Megumi's inner turmoil and greeted herself, "Ah, I'm Yukihira Souma." she raised a friendly hand up to the blue-haired girl, a kind closed eye-smile in place. "Souma's fine, though. Nice to meet you!"

Megumi was no longer crouching on the floor and faced the red-head hesitantly, a hand near her chest. "Oh..." she suddenly remembered that she hadn't greeted the red-head back. "Nice to...meet you, too..." she trailed off when noticing the glares she and Souma was receiving, and Megumi noticed that most of the glares were directed to her, filled with jealousy from the guys and the girls were glaring at Souma with envy and...well, jealousy.

' _The...the stares hurt..._ ' Megumi thought, avoiding the said stares and glares from the others. ' _I wonder if she's even noticed..._ ' she subtly glanced up at the red-head and saw a kind smile on Souma's face, her rosy lips glossing, and her dark-red lashes glinting in the light. Megumi silently squeaked and lowered her head, her cheeks heating up abruptly. ' _Wh-what was that...?!_ '

"Attention!" a rough, aggressive voice got everyone's attention away from the red-head and Megumi. A man with slicked back blond hair and a red tie on his neck walked to the front. "Ohayou, my young apprentis." he greeted blandly, eyes narrowed and sharp.

"Ohayou gozaimasu," everyone greeted back, including Megumi, whilst Souma stared in confusion at the man. "A...A... Apple tea?" she muttered, attempting to repeat the word the man had just said.

Megumi suddenly began sweating, getting nervous and flustered as she heard the quiet words from the red-head behind her. "That's Roland Chapelle-sensei," she informed the confused Souma.

Roland Chapelle, Totsuki Academy lecturer and French Cuisine Lead. "You will all become responsible for creating a dish the moment you step into the kitchen." he started speaking, sliding his blue eyes closed. "Neither experience nor status can excuse you from this duty." he opened his eyes again, almost resembling a glare. "In my class, any dish that fails to deserve an A rating will automatically receive an E rating." he explained to the class, and all the students were silent, nervous. "Remember that."

Megumi tilted to the side, inwardly crying waterfalls. ' _I've got the worst luck... I can't believe my very first class has to be with Chapelle-sensei, of all people!_ '

"The teach looks scary." Souma commented, and Megumi whirled around to the red-head. "He's notorious at Totsuki for being extremely strict with grades." Megumi told her, and Souma blinked as the yellow-eyed girl continued, "Last year, he gave E ratings to all fifty students in his class, eighteen of whom were expelled as a result of that rating. His nickname is ' _The Chef Who Never Smiles_ '."

"Eh?" Souma blinked, not impressed yet not _not_ impressed at the same time. Megumi only continued to tremble in fear and anxiety at the chef in front of them.

"Today's menu item is boeuf bourguignon." Chapelle stated, leaning on his hands that were on the table with a blank frown on his face. "It can be said to be a staple French cuisine, but I'll put the recipe up on the whiteboard anyway." he said as a man behind him was writing on the board.

"Two hours is your time limit. Each team should serve the dish as soon as it's complete." The students gasped and stared at the chef with fear and panic, but Chapelle paid no attention to them. "Let us begin. _Start cooking_!"

Everyone immediately spread and started finding their tools and ingredients. Souma only stared in confusion again. "Did he just say to add diced cucumbers?"

Megumi was trembling before sighing, her shoulders sagging. ' _I just have to do this... Stay calm and nail each step..._ ' she turned to face her partner behind her, her eyes closed. ' _Besides, Souma-san seemed pretty confident, too._ ' she opened her yellow eyes, a hopeful smile on her face. ' _I bet her cooking skills aren't too shabby—_ '

"Boeufu bouru—n-nani?" Souma tried repeating the words on the board, her golden eyes narrowed in confusion and it seemed as if question marks were floating near her head.

" _Hiiiiiiii_! Souma-san, you've never made it before?!" Megumi squeaked, sweat dripping on her head as a dumbfounded hair bounced out from her braids.

Souma glanced at the dark-haired girl, "Nope, I haven't." she answered honestly and cluelessly.

Megumi just turned around trembling, her face blue and her hands on her cheeks. When had her luck run out anyway?

"It's basically like braised beef sinew, right?" Souma continued, smiling cluelessly and tilted her head with her eyes closed, not noticing Megumi's panicked posture. "Well, I'm sure we'll manage." she began walking to their cooking station, her golden eyes open with obliviousness. "I'll go take a look at the recipe."

In Megumi's head, she could practically feel the words ' _Crap_ ' hanging above her as she held her head in complete and utter despair. ' _I might be screwed, after all..._ '

* * *

As the other students stared and glared, Souma resumed whistling a quiet tune to herself with her hands stuffed in her pants, her eyes taking in the recipe board in front of her.

Sometime later, Megumi was stirring mushrooms on the fryer, nervous. ' _Sauté mushrooms in butter before adding them to the pot..._ ' she thought to herself, and moved to the pot to lower the heat. ' _Then you just simmer everything at low heat..._ ' she leaned in and stared at the pot, quite intently. ' _Take the beef out in forty minutes. Take the beef out in thirty-nine minutes._ ' she counted in her head, not blinking even once. ' _Take the beef out in thirty-eight minutes._ '

"Tadokoro, look!" Souma called out, promptly snapping Megumi out of her trance as she jumped in surprise and looked at the red-head. "Look, so many spices!" she said in slight amazement, her voice tinged with awe at the amount as she faced the cabinets.

Megumi finally blinked once in incredulity, before leaning back and sighed in exasperation. "I feel like an idiot for being all anxious by myself." she absently said, subconsciously thinking about how Souma was totally fine and not worried, before perking up in thought. "Oh, I should just get the serving dish while I can." she walked around the station towards her clueless, red-headed partner.

While she began to leave, the two males behind Souma and Megumi's group glanced over at the blue-haired girl, an evil smirk on their faces.

* * *

Souma was whistling as she walked by, before stopping by on hers and Megumi's station when she noticed something that wasn't right. The steam was coming off the pot that was slightly open. "Eh?" she looked to the blue-haired girl busy doing something in front of her, "Tadokoro, did you open the lid?" Souma questioned, her hand pointing at said pot.

Megumi looked up from her work and glanced at the red-head behind her, confusion in her yellow eyes. "Huh? I don't think so," she approached the pot near the red-head with her hands close to her chest. "We still have to simmer it for twenty more minutes."

Feeling as if someone was staring, Souma glanced behind her to see two smirks from the male students just behind hers and Megumi's station. Her golden eyes widened slightly in realization.

Souma opened the lid of the pot, her eyes filled with shock, and Megumi gasped lightly. Inside the pot where the beef was being cooked, the top of the meat was covered in big chunks of some sort of white seasoning. A feeling of dread filled Megumi's gut.

"Wh-what is this white stuff?!"

Souma took a teaspoon and scooped a small amount of the substance on the tip of the spoon, bringing it up to her mouth and licked a pinch of it, the taste spreading on her taste buds. Her golden side-glanced at her partner, eyes narrowed. "It's salt." she stated.

Megumi gasped, a hint of fear in her yellow eyes. "How?! Wh-what are we going to do?!"

Chapelle moved his gaze at the two females with hardened eyes, hearing the blue-haired girl's panic.

"We can't use this meat anymore!" Megumi leaned back, her eyes wavering. "We'll have to start over! But it takes more than an hour to tenderize and season the meat!" tears began forming on her eyes, her voice getting smaller and scared. "Then we have to braise the meat in the sauce for at least half an hour so that the flavors mingle." Megumi peered up at the clock.

"We only have thirty minutes left... But if we serve this salt-caked dish," Megumi's yellow eyes moved to the meat inside the pot, "we'll get an E rating for sure." Images of her family and friends back home flashed in her mind as she held the red charm her mother gave her in her trembling hands. ' _Okaa-san... Gomen, min'na, I'm done for..._ ' tears trailed down on her face, her shoulders shaking as she did her best to hold back a sob.

A loud clattering of a steel tray placed on the table was heard. "I got spare ingredients." Souma's carefree voice stated, Megumi releasing a confused "Huh?" as the red-head rubbed her arm. "Alright, let's put our game face on."

"Huh? Eh?" Megumi repeated, her eyes nearly flickering out of light. "Souma-san, but there's no way we're gonna finish in time."

"That teacher says some pretty good things." Souma began untying the headband on her wrist, pulling it away as it fluttered. Megumi only stared in confusion as Souma continued. "We're cooking pros before we're students."

Light was going back to Megumi's eyes as she stared in surprise and a slight hint of hope.

Souma pulled on the end of the headband, covering her forehead and a couple of her bangs and also tied in a high-ponytail. "I'm gonna serve a dish, no matter what!" she stated determinedly, her small smile filled with confidence.

"Help out!" she faced the stupefied blue-haired girl. Even back at home, at Yukihira, no matter how hard Souma had to work her butt off, she would serve a dish regardless of the cost, because that's how she was taught.

Megumi snapped out of it, eyes still surprised, but complied. "H-hai!"

Souma opened a case of knives and pulled out a sharp and clean one. Her eyes glinted before cutting a vegetable with shocking speed.

"Here's the salt, pepper, and bouquet garni!" Megumi said as she held up leaves and seasoning on her hands. Souma smiled, "Nice!" she responded.

The flame went high as the time ticked over fourteen minutes left. Everything Souma did was like in a blink of an eye, and Megumi could barely follow but all in her mind right then and there was to pass the test.

* * *

The male student with lavender-gray hair smirked, pulling a drawer out. "Look, that big-mouthed transfer student's all worked up.

"Maa, I bet an E rating will be guaranteed, no matter what." His dark-haired friend agreed, arms crossed over his chest as the two went back to their station after finding what they needed. They watched as Chapelle tasted a dish from another team, passing them with an apathetic A-rating.

"Each team should be finishing up by now." the lavender-head turned to the pot, "We've only got the sauce left, too. Let's wrap up—"

"Evaluation, please!" Souma's voice cut them out as she and Megumi approached their teacher and judge. The two males snapped their heads to the two girls, eyes widened in disbelief and shock that they had managed to finish their dish on time.

A satisfied grin was on Souma's face, holding up the plate with one hand as Megumi fiddled with her hands in apprehension. "Oagariyo!"

"No way..."

Souma placed the dish on the table; steam still emitting from the meat at how hot and cooked it was as the sauce practically shimmered on the plate.

Chapelle stared at it with blank nonchalance, but a hint of interest glinted in his blue eyes before it disappeared. He pushed his fork into the meat, and watched the juice trail down. His eyes widened and Megumi gasped faintly in surprise.

"The meat's tender..." Chapelle started, eyes slightly wide in shock at the fact that the two females had managed to get the dish done under thirty minutes, and also tender and cooked properly. "The fork's practically springing back."

The two male students behind the girls stared in shock, nearly gaping at what they had heard.

' _What?!_ '

' _Impossible! There's no way they were able to braise it long enough!_ ' just the thought of it being finished under thirty minutes sounded impossible in a student's ranking!

"Your team had an accident, if I recall." Chapelle pointed out, staring at the timid blue-haired girl before back at the red-head. "How did you manage to finish the assignment?" he asked, and Souma chuckled slightly, reaching something from her pocket.

"We used honey!" she responded, a proud gleam in her golden eyes as she held up the small jar of honey in her hand. "I kneaded it into the meat before the braise, and it was also included in the seasoning." she explained.

The blonde hummed in thought and moved his gaze to the dish in front of him. "Honey has the protease, which breaks down proteins." he uttered to himself, "The protease went to work on the tough beef flank, allowing you to tenderize it in the short time you had left." Chapelle grabbed a knife and began slicing through the meat, the juices spilling out.

Megumi decided to add her thoughts in as she looked at her red-head partner. "B-but how did you know that you could use honey this way?" she asked, inwardly finding it amazing that the red-head had figured something like that out, and was glad they had made a dish on time.

Souma side-glanced at the blue-haired girl with a coy smile, "A long time ago, I read this cookbook that said pineapple juice tenderizes meat." she explained, and Souma mentally sniggered when she had read the book, her father was sleeping, totally out of the world. "I couldn't think of a reason why I'd get an entire pineapple just for that, so I experimented with a bunch of different stuff to see if anything had a similar effect." Souma held the honey up higher, "Honey has a long shelf life, so it's much more versatile."

Megumi blinked, staring at the red-head in amazement as Souma grabbed a knife and fork, slicing the meat. "Maa, you'll see once you try a bite, Tadokoro." the red-head held the fork up to Megumi and the said girl leaned back slightly in surprise, yellow eyes staring at the glistening meat.

After reluctantly grabbing the fork from the red-head's hands, both Megumi and Chapelle took a mouthful of the meat, and Megumi's eyes widened in astonishment at the flavors that instantly made itself known on her tongue.

In her thoughts, cute little Souma bees were buzzing above her, holding a pot of honey and tilted downwards as the yellow color fell down with glamour. Megumi held her hands to her cheeks, a content and happy expression on her face as the honey pour over her.

It felt like Megumi was swimming in honey, also melting in the flavorful sweet. She wasn't the only one as Chapelle also felt like he was in a pool of the delicious and wonderful honey, a pleased smile on his face.

"Chapelle-sensei...is _smiling_!" all the students exclaimed in pure shock and disbelief, shock that the chef who was said to never smile had smiled, and disbelief that the person who had caused it was the red-head they had thought was just a loud-mouth.

Chapelle placed the fork on the plate with the knife, "Yukihira and Tadokoro," Souma smiled brightly and Megumi waited in anticipation, "I'll give you an A rating. However..." a disappointed smile made its way to the blond-man's face. "...I regret the fact that I do not have the authority to grant you a higher rating."

Souma pulled the end of her headband away, her messy and spiky red hair falling gracefully on her shoulders, and a joyful grin on her face. "Osomatsu!"

Megumi stared at the red-head in awe; all the doubt going away like it was never there in the first place. At first, she had really thought Souma couldn't succeed in doing any dish. But now, after watching, and hearing, the red-head's demonstration of her skills, she wondered if she could see more of that from the red-head in the future.

"That transfer student's cooking..."

"...got a higher rating than ours?"

The two male students who messed up the girls' meat earlier were gaping in shock, before the dark-haired one smelled something burning and turned around to their pot.

"The meat's burning!"

"Shit!"

The other guy stumbled to his partner, accidentally toppling the salt on his hand and the two could only watch as the salt spilled out of the container, exactly how they did it to the two females.

The two could only cry out in despair, and realized that karma basically bit them back in the ass.

Chapelle only had his eyes closed and arms folded over his chest, his expression calm and neutral even if the tick mark on his head said so otherwise.

"E rating!"

* * *

"Souma-san,"

Megumi's voice called out as the said red-head closed the cabinet where the honey belonged to. Souma turned to the red-head, a bright smile on her face. "Ah! Good work back there!" she complimented honestly.

Megumi timidly looked at the ground, but willed herself to look up at the red-head in the eyes, a red blush across her cheeks. "A-ano... Arigatou," she thanked with gratitude and genuine sincerity. "It's all because of you that I..."

Souma only lifted a dismissive hand, stopping Megumi from continuing and grinned openly. "Never mind all that!" she sent the blue-haired girl a thumbs up, "I'm looking forward to working together from now on, Tadokoro!" and she wasn't lying. Seeing what she could do, Souma looked forward to seeing more things from the petite girl.

"Mn!" Megumi smiled softly, ' _Maybe_ _I've_ _gotten_ _myself_ _paired_ _up_ _with_ _someone_ _really_ _special_...'

She had _no_ idea.

"Oh, by the way," Souma started, an unknown glint flashing in her golden eyes that went unnoticed by the petite girl as she smiled _(but Megumi definitely noticed how her smile almost resembled a smirk)_. "Do you wanna try my new recipe to celebrate our success?"

Megumi perked up, a smile on her face. "Really? I'd like to try,"

A cooked tentacle with honey covered all over was help up by the chopsticks Souma was currently holding, showing it to the frozen Megumi.

"Eh?" Megumi blinked, dumbfounded and her voice tiny in complete confusion. "Ano..."

A devious smile made its way to the red-head's face, "It's honey-pickled squid." Souma stated, and wasted no time and hesitation as she immediately inserted the squid into the dark-haired girl's mouth.

Megumi could only scream in desperation as the honey-coated tentacles wrap themselves around her wrist, her knees, her waist, and her whole body. She could feel the slimy honey getting dragged over her skin that was ripped off of clothing.

' _The flavor of the squid had been taken in the wrong direction, making it as disgusting as it had feel to be groped all over by it._ '

Souma only chuckled evilly as Megumi suffered the horrible taste on her most-likely abused tongue.

* * *

 **End of Ep. 3 and Ch. 3!**

 **If there are errors, don't mind to point it out. Leave a review if you like, hearing your opinions make my day! :3**

 _ **Osomatsu!**_


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